


Chasing the Light

by Arcaniel



Series: Xenobia's Wyndrah world [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, M/M, Mpreg, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-13
Updated: 2013-03-13
Packaged: 2017-12-05 05:14:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/719266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcaniel/pseuds/Arcaniel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to "The Velvet Shadow": Tyra and Elain just want to enjoy their life together, but there are still some issues unresolved...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the sequel to "The Velvet Shadow"!
> 
> This story is written by Phendragon and Neko (aka Arcaniel). The Wyndrah world belongs to Xenobia.
> 
> Please enjoy!

_Downtown Valkyrie Falls_  
  
Elain turned around in bed and grabbed the alarm clock on his nightstand seconds before it had a chance to go off. He swiftly turned it off and put it back before he gently tried to extricate himself from Tyra's embrace. The sire was still sleeping soundly, and since his first class wasn't before noon, Elain saw no reason for waking his lover up.

As Elain slowly picked up Tyra's arm and removed it from his waist, Tyra made a soft murmur in his sleep and then rolled over to his other side, leaving Elain with a perfect chance for escape.

Elain swung his legs over the side of the bed and got up. With a little frown, he picked up some clothes that were haphazardly strewn all over the room, reminders of their nightly activities, and put them in the hamper. Of course he was as enthusiastic as Tyra when it came to those little bursts of passion, but he still preferred his apartment to be spotless.  
  
Elain silently went to over to the bathroom to get a quick shower. When he was finished, he returned to the bedroom in a bathrobe to find some appropriate clothes for the day. His wardrobe still consisted mostly of suits, but a few casual clothes like simple slacks, shirts, and sweaters had found their way in during the last months.  
  
Today, however, a business meeting was scheduled, so it had to be a suit of course.

When Elain turned away from the closet with his suit of choice in his hands, he saw that Tyra was sitting up in bed, looking quite sleepy-eyed. His golden hair, normally spiked to perfection, was soft and rumpled from sleep, and his lean body was bare from his neck, down his nicely trimmed body, to his waist, where the sheets hid the rest of him.  
  
Tyra rubbed at one eye. "Isn't it a little early? You shouldn't have to be up for another half an hour."

Elain smiled slightly. "Sorry, I was trying not to wake you. There are some additional things I have to go through before I have my meeting with my business associates. I had planned on reading them last night, but I guess I got distracted by a certain someone."

Tyra gave Elain a lopsided smile and let his eyes roam over Elain's form within the satiny bathrobe. "I'd really like to distract you again, actually. How long's the meeting going to take? Think you can sneak back up here before I have to leave for class?" He leaned back on his elbows, leaving his body nicely on display. Elain could clearly see that Tyra was partly hard, causing a tenting in the bedsheets.

 

This sight was indeed tempting, and for a moment Elain entertained some fantasies about just getting back into bed. But then his self-control took over again. First work, then pleasure.  
  
"I guess I can manage that - if I leave now and get my work done," Elain answered. "Can you entertain yourself in the meantime?"

Tyra chuckled, and the sound was low and rich. "Entertain myself, huh? Not sure if I remember how to do that. Haven't really had to do that much these past couple months, but I can probably relearn it." Tyra slowly slid a hand down his chest, and it disappeared beneath the bedsheet into that area where the tent was lifting higher.

Elain swiftly turned away, feeling his body heating up even more. Now he needed another shower, and this time an ice cold one, if he didn't want to walk into his office with a tent of his own showing.  
  
Tyra had learned the fine art of teasing _very_ quickly indeed.  
  
"Well, I guess then I don't have to show up later since you're having fun on your own," he finally replied, trying to sound rather disinterested.  
  
Tyra, however, had known Elain long enough now to know that he was just pretending.

"That's no reason to stay away, is it?" Tyra asked with a purr in his voice. He lay back on the bed fully and let his other hand also wander under the sheet. He let out a soft sigh of pleasure. "I mean, I can stay back here and have a little time alone, and when you get back, I'll be nice and relaxed and I can be completely, entirely focused on you. Oh, hnn, I guess I do remember how to do this!" Tyra bit his lip and arched against the sheet, enjoying his own firm grip on his cock and balls, his eyes fixed on the curve of Elain's body wrapped in the thin bathrobe.

Although Elain couldn't see what Tyra was doing, the sounds the sire was making gave everything away. Elain's resolve was slipping away, rapidly, and if he didn't move now, he would surely give in.  
  
The insistent beeping of the telephone rescued him. Elain managed to finally get his feet moving and exited the bedroom to answer the phone in the living room.  
  
The little display showed the number of his own office. "Yes, Conroy?"  
  
"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you, but you wanted to be notified immediately if the director of Norden Group changed his mind and decided to attend the meeting today. His office just called that he'll be coming."  
  
"Very good. I'll be in the office in a few minutes," Elain answered before he hung up and rushed back into the bedroom to finish dressing in record time. He even managed not to look at Tyra again until he was finished.  
  
"Sorry, I have to go right now," Elain said, grabbing his glasses from the nightstand and leaning down to kiss his lover.

Tyra murmured contentedly and drew the kiss out as long as he could until Elain pulled away. "You should definitely come back up after the meeting. There's a blowjob in it for you."

"Why do I get the feeling that I've thoroughly corrupted your innocence in the last months?" Elain asked with a little sigh, but then he was smiling again and straightened out his suit. "And I won't pass up on that offer. See you later."

"Nah, you can still do some more corrupting, I think," Tyra teased. He reached over to the bedside table, where a box of tissues was conveniently placed, and he cleaned off his hands. "I'll see you later. Don't worry about Velvet. I'll feed her."

"Thank you. But don't let her steal too much cheese again from the fridge. It's not good for her, although she loves it," Elain warned him before he left.

 

The elevator had a mirror, so Elain used the time it took to get to the lower levels to check on his appearance again. As he had suspected, his hair was in slight disarray again. He smoothed it down and adjusted his glasses before he exited the lift.  
  
His assistant, Conroy, was already waiting for him in the hallway. "Good morning, sir. Here are the requested papers." He gave Elain a bunch of documents. "Everything else is arranged already."  
  
"Good. I'll be working through this now; tell me when our guests arrive, will you?"  
  
Conroy hesitated. "I'm afraid Mr. Ashton is already here. He said that his plane landed earlier than expected. I brought him some breakfast and coffee and made him wait in the lounge so he doesn't disturb you."  
  
Elain suppressed a sigh. "Thanks, Conroy. Now would you go and try to reach this new interior designer we wanted to book for redecorating the VIP lounge?"  
  
"I've already did that, sir. He'll be coming over next week to have a look. I also gathered some alternative offers in case his work doesn't suit you."  
  
Elain gave his assistant an appreciative smile. "Very good work, Conroy. It seems it was the right decision to give you more freedom to decide for yourself. Keep it up like this."  
  
The young man simply nodded and then turned around to vanish back into his office.  
  
At first it had been difficult to delegate work that Elain found so important that he absolutely had to do it himself all the time, but now it really paid off to have trust in his employees. Conroy, although the most unremarkable man he had ever met, had in fact a very keen eye and a sharp mind that was perfect for the club business. A month ago Elain had given him more autonomy in deciding things and had not regretted it so far. Together with Marithia and a few other chosen employees, Conroy had bit by bit taken a lot of strenuous work off Elain's shoulders, thus giving him more free time to share with Tyra.  
  
Conroy and Marithia were the only people in Elain's vicinity who knew about the relationship. After the disaster with the tabloids, Tyra and Elain had kept their relationship a secret, and although the dust had settled months ago, Elain simply didn't want to risk anything.  
  
The bigger problem had been the rumors about embezzling money from the charity event. Although an independent accountant had proved that the Velvet Shadow's finances were immaculate, the press had lingered a bit longer on that tasty piece of gossip. And so far Elain hadn't been able to find out who exactly had wanted to damage his reputation.

Elain's ruminations were interrupted when Davaric Ashton appeared in the hallway, looking at a sheet of paper.  
  
"Conroy, could you possibly copy — oh. Good morning, Mr. Silvestri," the sire said.

"Good morning, Mr. Ashton. You're very early," Elain remarked dryly. "That eager for the meeting?"

The handsome sire gave a small shrug. "Conroy makes better coffee than my assistant does." Davaric gave Elain a thoughtful but somewhat cool look. "You seem well. You appear to be more... relaxed."

"Thank you. But I hope you're not trying to lure Conroy away."  
  
Inwardly, Elain hoped that he didn't look too relaxed in Mr. Ashton's eyes and vowed to take another critical look at himself before he attended the meeting.

"By the way, do you know yet whether Victor Norden will be in attendance this morning?" Davaric asked.

"He just gave word that he'll be here. So we have another chance for a mutually beneficial arrangement. Please help yourself to more coffee, Mr. Ashton. I'll be in my office for the time being." He briefly knocked on one of the office doors, and a young woman with huge glasses appeared. "Diana, would please copy something for Mr. Ashton?" Elain asked her.

"Of course, Mr. Silvestri," Diana replied. "The copier is over this way, Mr. Ashton."  
  
Elain took the opportunity to retreat into his office. He sighed in relief. Although Davaric had not flirted with him for the past several months, the sire's presence still put Elain on edge. Something about the sire was too... intense for Elain's liking.

Sure, Davaric was far easier company ever since he had stopped making advances, but Elain's strong sense of competition was irked nevertheless. Or maybe it was just the stark contrast between people like Davaric Ashton and Tyrallin, who challenged Elain on a completely different level yet never threatened to show the typical and almost instinctual dominance every other sire or human man exuded around lifebearers and women. Elain had always hated such patronizing behavior, but in his business he had to deal with it on a daily basis. Luckily, his usual business partners were always civil around him.  
  
Victor Norden, however, was still a blank page on that matter. Elain had never met him personally, but the information told him of a middle-aged, successful bon vivant who loved fast cars and very young women. This meeting would surely be interesting.

Elain took a deep breath and went to his private bathroom to check his appearance once more. He found it to be impeccable, and so he returned to his office and went to his desk to read until the meeting.  
  
The remaining time before the meeting passed quickly — too quickly. Elain didn't quite finish reading the materials he needed to prepare.

But it had to suffice for the moment. Elain stacked the documents and took them with him when he went to the conference room. Davaric was already there, finishing his coffee, as well as the three other business associates. Elain briefly shook hands with them, but before he could sit down and make any announcements, the door opened and Victor Norden entered.  
  
He was short and round, with a neat little beard and sharp dark eyes, smiling broadly and seemingly friendly.  
  
Elain immediately disliked him. Nevertheless, he was the host and needed a good connection to this man. And years of experience had taught him to hide any antipathies very well. Elain went to greet him.  
  
"Mr. Norden, welcome. We're glad that you could make it."

"Yes, well, I had to get your assistant to stop hounding me somehow, didn't I?" the man replied with a self-amused little laugh. "There's no use standing around, gentlemen. Why don't we get right to it?" Without waiting to be invited, Mr. Norden went to the large, plush chair at one end of the table, directly opposite from Elain's chair.

Elain had somehow expected this behavior, but it didn't make him any happier. He went to his own seat and sat down.  
  
"Welcome, gentlemen, to our quarterly meeting. There's a lot on the agenda this time, but I'd like to start with introducing Mr. Victor Norden who was so kind to attend our meeting today. The Norden Group is one of the largest investments groups in the entertainment field, as you all know."

Mr. Norden held up a hand. "No need for the formalities, really. I have a limited amount of time here before I have to meet with Hybex on the other side of town. If we could get down to the numbers, please?"

Elain silently gritted his teeth. He hated to be interrupted like this, and from the looks the others at the table were giving him, he could tell that they did find this a bit strange as well.  
  
He swiftly leafed through his stack of documents until he had found the right one. "If  you would take a look at page 18 of our meeting plan..."  
  
The conference continued, and since Elain didn't waste any words, Mr. Norden thankfully stopped complaining. As they were near the end however, discussing the plans for joined events like charity balls and promotion parties, Mr. Norden got impatient again.

The man cleared his throat loudly and proceeded to speak. "I feel that you all have this well under control. Since I'm not particularly needed for these more minor details, I do hope you'll pardon me for leaving early." The short man shifted and rose from his seat.

"Of course. Thank you for attending this meeting, Mr. Norden. I'll be sending you all the additional details." Elain rose from his seat and forced himself to smile politely as he went over to Mr. Norden to see him off.

They exchanged pleasantries that didn't actually feel pleasant to Elain, but he kept his best business face on. After Mr. Norden had left, all those present for the meeting seemed to be more at ease, even Mr. Ashton. The rest of the meeting proceeded well.

They agreed on all the major points left to discuss, and after half an hour the meeting was over. Elain invited everyone to a little brunch in the VIP lounge afterwards, but excused himself as quickly as he could. He was even less in the mood for socialising than usual. Although the whole meeting had been a success, Mr. Norden's behavior still grated on his nerves.  
  
He quickly told Conroy that he'd return after lunch, then he went upstairs to his apartment.  
  
"Tyra?" he asked. "Are you still there?"

Tyra appeared in the bedroom doorway. He was dressed in a simple polo shirt and jeans, and he gave Elain a big smile. "Oh good, you're back. I made you a salad for lunch. It's in the fridge, keeping cool."

"Thanks, that's exactly what I need to cool down again," Elain said, taking off his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Tyra gave Elain a curious look and then walked toward him. "Did something go wrong in the meeting?" he asked.

"Not exactly wrong, since we came to satisfying results, but the Director of Norden Group was ... difficult," Elain answered. "Well, he isn't the first and he won't be the last businessman whose behavior borders on impoliteness toward me."

"Too bad you can't kick rude people out of the board room the way you can kick them out of the club, huh?" Tyra said with a lopsided smile. "Did you get a headache? Need a Tyra-Special neck rub?"

Elain smiled back at him and shrugged out of his jacket to put it away on a coat hanger so it wouldn't get wrinkled. "Offering me a massage is like offering Velvet some cheese - I can't get enough if it." He came back to Tyra and gave him a thankful kiss.

"Well then, would you kindly step into my office, sir?" Tyra said, and he held out a hand, which Elain took. Tyra tugged Elain toward the couch, where he encouraged Elain to sit. He went around behind the couch and slid his hands under Elain's shoulder-length hair and began to use his thumbs to rub the lifebearer's neck in small, firm circles.

Elain closed his eyes and needed all his willpower not to start purring like a cat. Tyra had almost magical hands when it came to finding the tense spots.  
  
"Yes, right there," Elain whispered.

Tyra felt the corners of his mouth twitch, and a warm and amorous feeling settled low in his belly. "I always love it when you say that to me," he said teasingly. But at the same time, he also pressed a little more firmly against the spot that Elain had indicated.

"If you ever decide that architecture is boring, you could make a fortune opening up a massage salon," Elain said, but his words were interrupted by a little, satisfied groan.

"Or you could just hire me as your private masseur," Tyra replied. "I'm pretty sure you could afford me." Tyra paused to run his fingers through Elain's fine hair a couple of times, and then he began to work on the lifebearer's shoulders. "And then I could say things to you like, 'I hope this meets with your satisfaction, Mr. Silvestri.' Or I could ask, 'Is there anything else you'd like me to... do for you, Mr. Silvestri?'" This last he leaned over and whispered in Elain's ear.

"I must admit that quite a few things come to mind - although I'm very content with what you're doing," Elain answered, turning his head to meet Tyra's eyes. "But if I remember correctly, you promised me something this morning?"

Tyra smiled. "Mmhm," he agreed. He gave Elain a quick kiss. He continued his massage, but he let one hand begin to wander over Elain's shoulder and down his chest and stomach to find its way between his legs. He rubbed his thumb teasingly through the fabric over the tender flesh he found there. "How about you take this out for me, lovely?"

Elain was quick to comply since he wanted his clothes to stay spotless for the rest of the day. But when Tyra started to stroke him in earnest, he felt the heat rise so quickly in his body that he was sure he would need a fresh set of clothes later. All the tension and frustration that had built inside him during the morning now found an outlet, leaving him panting and aching for more.

Tyra abruptly stopped what he was doing and took his hands away from Elain's member. He wrapped both arms around Elain's shoulders even as the lifebearer gasped and glared at him accusingly for stopping. "Shh, Elain, just breathe. There's no rush yet; just breathe and relax."

"It's all your fault for being too good at this," Elain joked with a slightly throaty voice, leaning into Tyra's embrace.

Tyra laughed softly and gave Elain's ear a playful nip. "You make that sound like a bad thing." He gave Elain's shoulders one last brief rub, and then he walked around the couch so that he was facing Elain, and he leaned forward to take Elain's face in his hands and give him a long and thorough kiss.

Elain practically melted into the kiss, feeling safe and comforted. Tyra always knew how to make him feel this way, and Elain was thankful beyond words for it.  
  
"It's not a bad thing, on the contrary," he whispered as they parted for a moment.

Tyra's smile kicked up another notch higher. "Glad to hear it," he replied as he sank down to his knees. "Now, about that promise..." Tyra hooked his arms under Elain's knees and unceremoniously dragged his hips forward so that they were closer to the edge of the couch. He then put both hands on Elain's waist and carefully took just the very tip of his cock into his mouth.

Although Elain was already used to maneuvers like that, he had quickly grabbed a cushion to keep himself from sliding too far down. As Tyra's mouth met his cock, he couldn't suppress a moan. He put his free hand into his lover's hair, near one pointed ear.

Tyra swiftly caught Elain's wrist and pulled his hand away from the danger zone, his sensitive ear tip, and pinned that hand to the couch. He wanted Elain to come unravelled, and to accomplish his goal of a screaming orgasm for his lover he needed all of his attention focused.  
  
Last night had been lots of slow and gentle lovemaking, full of soft touches and husky whispers of pleasure. _This_ was all about seeing whether he could make Elain scream his name.  
  
Toward that end, he viciously lavished attention all over Elain's member, licking from root to tip with long strokes of his tongue, and then giving quick teasing sucks at the tip.

His efforts were rewarded, when Elain suddenly started to tense up. He almost ripped the cushion to shreds as he screamed Tyra's name, his vision blackening for a moment.

Tyra moaned appreciatively as he tasted Elain's sweet release on his tongue and he swallowed quickly. He kept suckling at the tip determinedly even as Elain began to relax and melt into the couch beneath him. He stopped only when Elain began to push his head away to get him to cease tormenting the overly sensitized skin.

Elain was panting, his eyes half closed. He felt wonderfully relaxed and sated, almost sleepy. The nasty tension and anger had completely melted away.  
  
"You're definitely hired for a life-long job," Elain said, smiling.

"Great, when's the..." he started, but he caught himself before he completed the statement.  
  
He'd almost said in jest "when's the bonding ceremony?" but such words wouldn't feel like much of a jest at all, not when he fully intended to ask Elain to bond with him some day.  
  
"Think you can get through the rest of the day without tensing back up now?" he asked as a cover. "I'm not going to be able to come back this evening and help you blow off steam. I have a test tomorrow, so I'm staying in the dorm tonight."

"I think I can manage", Elain answered. "Thanks. And you'd better concentrate and do some work for your classes. Next time I'll be the one to help you relieve some stress." He had noticed that Tyra had almost said something entirely different, but he couldn't begin to guess what it had been.

"I'm counting on it," Tyra replied with a wink. He rose to his feet and straightened out his clothes. He went and picked his messenger bag up from where it was waiting for him on one of the chairs. "Don't forget, lunch is in the fridge for you."

"Thanks. I love you," Elain called after him, still unable to move.

Tyra turned to look at Elain where he was still sprawled on the couch in a state of obvious debauchery with his fly open, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes closed.  
  
A job well done, as far as Tyra was concerned.  
  
He went back and gave Elain a quick kiss on the forehead. "Love you, too, Elain. See you this weekend."  
  
Tyra exited the apartment with quite a bit of swagger in his walk. He wouldn't be able to see Elain again for a couple of days, but that last image of him lying on the couch would certainly sustain Tyra for a while.  
  
He got into the VIP elevator to head down to the first floor. However, the elevator stopped a few floors down — to be precise, it stopped on the business floor of the Velvet Shadow. The elevator doors shushed open to reveal a familiar-looking sire in a formal business suit. It was one of Elain's business partners, the one that Tyra had met before.  
  
What was his name again?

The other sire was clearly remembering Tyra, too, as he raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're still coming here?" he asked.

"Yep," Tyra drawled out the word. It was D-something. Daversham? Demerik?

"Very interesting - even more since nobody has ever been invited upstairs into Elain Silvestri's sanctuary," Davaric remarked. "And there I thought you were just a little fling. Interesting indeed."

Tyra narrowed his eyes and grit his teeth. He looked away from the other sire for a moment to regain his composure.  
  
"What do you mean, 'nobody's ever been invited into Elain's sanctuary'? We had Marithia up for dinner just two nights ago," he shot back.  
  
Of course, it occurred to him a moment too late that he was supposed to be keeping their relationship a secret from outsiders. But, damnit, this guy got on his nerves. Tyra suddenly remembered exactly how he'd met this sire for the first time. Damnit, this sire had _always_ gotten on his nerves.

"Marithia doesn't count since she's a woman," Davaric dismissed Tyra's argument. "And now it's 'we' already? A live-in loverboy instead of a little fling? I guess the newspaper were a bit quick to dismiss you."

In that moment, Tyra wanted nothing so much as the chance to punch the arrogant sire in the mouth. He felt his ear tips flush with his anger. This pompous ass didn't have any right to look down on Tyra. "Loverboy," was he now?  
  
But then Tyra recalled how he'd been playing that exact role only a short while ago, and all that it had led to. A smug, self-content smile eased its way across his face. He ran his tongue against the roof of his mouth.  
  
He could still taste the faint traces from that elusive honey flavor of Elain's release on his tongue.  
  
So Tyra decided he could be generous and not blame the bastard for being jealous.  
  
"I guess they were," he replied with his smile still in place.

This reaction caught Davaric a bit off-guard, but he quickly regained his composure. The elevator stopped a second later, and the doors opened.  
  
"Then let's hope Elain won't lose interest in you too soon, or it's back to the streets for you. Good luck." Davaric stepped out of the lift and gave Tyra a dismissing little wave.

Tyra waved in return. "See you around, Dashmeric," he replied as he headed for the parking lot.

 

_To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

A few days later, Tyra was at his family's house for one of his regular visits. After moving into the dorms at the beginning of the term it had been difficult for Tyra since he had missed his family but it had been even harder for his father who, even more emotional because of his pregnancy, almost didn't let him go at all. So Lissem was overjoyed each time that Tyra came home again, and made Tyra's favorite food and muffins and fussed over him, and Tyra, although protesting a bit, was silently grateful for it.

This time was no different, although Detrallin tried to no avail to stop his mate from running around so much.

Finally, it was Feadri who won the battle to get Lissem to sit down and put his feet up.

"Hey Tyra, want to play a board game together in the living room as a family?" the young lifebearer asked.

Tyra saw what Feadri was up to. "Good idea. You pick the game."

After a few moments, Feadri came back with Tyra's favorite, a detective game where everyone could possibly be the 'murderer'. Although Lissem protested every time that they could pick a game that wasn't so sinister, he was often enough the one to find the 'culprit' first.

As Feadri set up the board, he asked out of the blue, "Tyra, when do I get the chance to finally meet your boyfriend?"

Tyra felt as if he'd just been whacked on the head. He really needed to teach Feadri something about subtlety some day. He glanced uneasily at his parents. Lissem's usual smile was pressed thin as if he'd tasted something sour. "Um, I don't really know. Eventually. Some day."

"Really?" Feadri looked a bit sceptical, ignoring his father's dark look. "Maybe I could come with you one afternoon? You told me he's got a jacuzzi in his bathroom, and I still don't believe a word."

Oh, how Tyra wished he could crawl in a hole and hide. He hadn't mentioned the jacuzzi to his parents, and he'd never intended to. His cheeks felt hot.

"You can come if it's okay with sire and dad," Tyra mumbled his quick response keeping his eyes glued to the board.

"No, it's not okay," Lissem said, crossing his arms over his prominent belly. "You're far too young to go into a club, young lifebearer, even if it's during the day. There are all sorts of unpleasant people." His face left no doubt which person in particular he meant.

"But Tyra would be there," Feadri pointed out. "Or, you know, we could invite Elain here."

Tyra resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. Somehow, he even kept himself from taking a pillow and smothering his little brother with it.

Before Lissem could reply, Detrallin said, "Let's talk about this when your little brother is here, Feadri."

"So, you think I'm just overreacting and cranky because I'm pregnant?" Lissem accused his mate.

Detrallin held up a hand and shook his head. "No, no one has said that."

"How I feel about that lifebearer has nothing to do with the state I'm in," Lissem said firmly. "Tyra's made his decision, but I don't want my Feadri wandering around in that club, and I don't particularly feel like opening my home to that lifebearer."

Feadri turned to Tyra. "Is this what it's like to be in on the 'grown up' talks?"

Tyra nodded his head slowly. "See, what did I tell you? They aren't all that much fun, are they?"

Feadri gravely shook his head. "Nope."

"Please reconsider it, love," Detrallin said calmly. "As I said, it's not about now, but maybe in a few weeks. We're talking about Tyra's boyfriend here."

"Why are you defending him, Detrallin? Am I the only one who remembers the trouble he caused last spring?" Lissem demanded.

"Dad, Elain apologized. And he helped get the scholarship straightened back out," Tyra said. When Lissem turned annoyed eyes his way, he resorted to an underhanded method: He pleaded. "Please, Dad? It would really mean a lot to me. We can put it off a while longer if that's what you want, but I'd really like you to meet him. So, please?"

Lissem sighed, helpless as any parent in sight of his child's big eyes. "I'm sorry, Tyra darling, but I really don't want to think about it right now. Can we please talk about this later? You guys always tell me I shouldn't get so riled up in my condition, so do keep sensitive topics from me for the time being, okay?"

Tyra glared pointedly at Feadri, who had the decency to duck his head and mumble an apology.

"How about we talk about that later then and focus on the game?" Tyra asked.

They all agreed on that, and started to concentrate on the game. As usual, Lissem won the first round, but Tyra managed to be the winner in the second. After a third they decided to call it a day. Lissem, whose back ached after sitting too long, decided to talk a short walk, and Detrallin accompanied him.

Feadri and Tyra migrated to Tyra's old room. It was still mostly the same save for some books and the computer which Tyra had taken with him to the dorms. They flopped down on the bed.

"Sorry," Feadri said. "But I thought it high time that we speak about your boyfriend. Dad has never been this cold to anybody for such a long time."

"You're right, he hasn't," Tyra replied. "But next time, check with me first before you bring it up, all right? I talked it over with sire, and we've been planning for a while now to bring it up after the baby's born. Sire agrees that dad's just being a mule because he's got a bun in the oven, and he'll chill out when his hormones get back to normal."

Feadri giggled. "Yes, I guess you're right. Hopefully our new little brother with be so cute that he'll mellow a bit despite having short nights. But I promised that I'll be doing the early morning shift when it comes to feeding him. Dad told me that we both loved to wake him up at five o'clock in the morning."

"Dad's going to have to mellow toward Elain eventually. This cold spell can't last forever," Tyra said.

"I really hope so. Buuuut... can't I meet Elain earlier? Maybe someplace else? Even Sally and your other friends have met him already. And I'm so curious." Feadri made big eyes at his brother.

"Nice try, but remember who taught you that move?" Tyra asked. "Sorry, but I'm not sticking my neck out again. I got in enough trouble for the entire year already, and Elain and dad would both nail me to the wall if they found out I was sneaking you out to meet Elain."

"Alright, alright," Feadri gave in and heaved a big sigh. "But at this rate I'll never meet my future brother-in-law."

Tyra rolled his eyes. "So dramatic. You will eventually. Just be patient. Dad's going to have to give in at some point."

"Let's hope so." Feadri crawled over to Tyra and poked him in the ribs. "By the way, I wanted to ask if I can have the now empty part of your cupboard? I have no idea where to put my new solar system and molecular models any more."

"Sure, no problem. I'm barely living here anyway," Tyra said. "Just don't go crazy and pile junk up all over, okay? I want my bed, floor, and desk kept clear, got it?"

"Got it!" Feadri saluted, grinning, then he hugged his brother. "You're the coolest! And, by the way, do cross your fingers for me, will you? There's a big science contest at my school next month, and I want to participate."

Tyra smiled. His little brother was such a nerd. "Good luck. Work your ass off and get it right. And if you don't, give me a call," he said. Then he tilted his head to the side and considered Feadri thoughtfully for a moment. "You know that even though I'm not living here any more, you can call me whenever you need me, right?"

"Of course I know, silly." Feadri squeezed him a bit tighter, and he cheerful tone grew more serious. "But I'm okay here. There's tons of school work to do, and I'm so looking forward to our little bro. But you have to come to the awards ceremony after the science contest to cheer me on, will you?"

"I will," Tyra said with a smile. "And I'll see if I can arrange it so I can bring a guest. How about that?"

"A guest? One I know or one I don't know yet?" Feadri asked, nudging his brother in the ribs again.

Tyra laughed softly. "One you don't know yet. But I'm not making any promises. But you'd better win a prize so I can brag about you to said guest."

"Of course! Hey, you know me, I'm the intelligent one in the family." Feadri grinned. "So, could you help me move my stuff in here?"

Tyra quirked a brow. "I'm kindly letting you move some of your science junk into my room, and you also want me to help you move in? And you claim to be the smart one in the family. Ha."

"Yeah, because I know you're the nice one and the greatest big bro on Wyndrah," Feadri replied.

Tyra groaned and covered his face with his pillow. Then he socked Feadri in the chest with the pillow. "Aarg, alright, you little runt. Come on, let's get your science crap moved in."

"Yay! As I said: You're the best!" Feadri stated, standing up and leaving the room.

Tyra followed him, remembering too late that Feadri's models were not only bulky, but heavy, too.

~*~

 

It was just a few weeks later that Lissem woke Detrallin in the middle of the night and calmly informed him that it was time to go to the hospital. They got their necessities together and then told a sleepy Feadri what was going on. Feadri protested against being left behind, so they let him get dressed and gather a book, pillow, and blanket and come with them to the hospital.

The next morning, Tyra received a phone call as he was gathering his things at Elain's apartment in order to head back to the dorm. He picked up his cell phone and saw that it was his sire calling. "Hey, sire, what's going on?" he answered.

"If you have time, you can come visit us at the hospital," Detrallin told him, and his normally calm voice sounded cheerful. "Our new family member arrived an hour ago."

Tyra felt as if his entire day had suddenly gotten brighter, and he felt light with joy. "That's great! Oh, wow, I wish I could come right now, but I have a class in two hours. But I'll come right after that. Is everything okay? How's dad?"

"He's sleeping now, but he's alright, as well as the little guy," his sire said. "They're in room 109."

Tyra looked around. Elain's apartment was always meticulously neat, so he didn't see any paper handy. He got a pen out of his backpack and wrote the number on his hand. "One-oh-nine, got it. And you're at Goodrich Hospital as planned, right? Oh! Is it a sire or a lifebearer?"

Tyra almost saw his sire smiling. "Yes, we're in Goodrich. And it's a little sire. He looks just like Lissem's father. "

At that moment, Elain came out of the bedroom. He was straightening his tie, and he gave Tyra a curious look. "That's great, that's really great," Tyra replied. "Hey, congrats, sire. Can you give dad my love and tell him I'll be there as soon as possible?"

"I don't think he'll wake up soon since he's fallen into healing trance, but I will if he wakes up before you're here. See you later, son."

When Tyra disconnected his phone, Elain asked, "Good news?"

Tyra went over to Elain and put his arms around him and lifted him up in the air, despite Elain's protest. Then he gave his lover a thorough kiss. "Great news. I'm a big brother again, and it's a little sire, and everybody's fine. Can't ask for a better way to start the day than that, can I?" Tyra gave Elain a huge grin.

Elain smiled back at him. "Then I have to congratulate you, too. It's good to hear that everything went smoothly. I guess you'll be visiting them right after classes?"

"Between classes, too. I have three hours between the first class and second, so I'll go to the hospital and get lunch on the way back. Then I'll finish up classes for the day and go back to the hospital again. Oh, damn, wait, we had plans for me to come back here for lunch, didn't we? Is it okay if I make that up to you later, Elain?" Tyra gave Elain an apologetic grimace.

Elain gave him a quick kiss. "Of course, Tyra. You go visit your family and spend time with them. And please say hello from me - as long as it won't upset your father. I really wish him all the best."

Tyra gently tucked the soft, fine strands of Elain's hair behind one ear. "Thank you, love. I'll see how the wind's blowing when dad wakes up from his healing trance. Likely he'll be so over the moon that it'll be the perfect time to say that you wish him will." Tyra gave Elain's nose a quick kiss. "Okay, I have to get to class now. I'll see you, well, probably tomorrow evening, I think. I'll give you a call, okay?"

Elain smiled. "Okay. Have a nice time, Tyra."

"Later," Tyra replied.

He left the apartment and headed back to the campus. He passed his morning in a bit of a daze, but thankfully no one noticed how distracted he was. As soon as he was free and clear of the class, he rushed to the hospital.

He was surprised to meet up with Feadri wandering in the hallway. He was wrapped in a blanket and eating a candy bar.

"Hey Feadri, shouldn't you be at school today?" Tyra asked.

"School? Oh, I totally forgot. But with my grades I'll survive a day ditching school," Feadri replied, munching his candy bar. He looked tired, but happy. "Now come on, I'll show you our little darling. He's cute beyond words!"

Feadri tugged his blanket a little tighter around his shoulders and lead Tyra down a hallway, past a nurses' station, and then down another hall. They came to a stop in front of a large picture window where several babies were lying in cradles, wrapped in blankets and little knitted caps. Feadri pointed to a cradle in a near corner with a baby that had a blue blanket.

"That's him," he whispered. "He has dad's chin and nose, but his eyes are a very light green. And those three strands of hair on his head are looking silvery blonde, just like granddad."

"Wow," Tyra breathed. The sire looked so small and delicate. The cradle dwarfed his tiny frame. "You know, I can barely remember when you came home from the hospital. It was nothing like this. I think they left me with granddad and grandsire when they had you. This is, well, really awesome."

"It is," Feadri agreed with bright, happy eyes. "Sire allowed me to hold him already. He's so incredibly small, I could hardly believe it when I saw his tiny toes and fingers. But then sire told me that I was even smaller. Little Selvyn here is actually normal size for a baby sire."

"Selvyn? Is that his name?" Tyra asked. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Selvyn," he said through the glass window. "I expect you to give Feadri a hard time for me since I won't be at home often, little guy."

"Hey, don't give him ideas! I plan to raise him to be a perfect little brother - like I was. Aaand I was the one to suggest the name, by the way," Feadri announced proudly.

Tyra ruffled Feadri's hair. "Good job. It's a nice name."

Their little sibling moment soon came to an end as they heard heavy footfalls approaching them. It was their sire, and he came to stand behind them and put a hand on their shoulders.

Detrallin looked a bit tired, too, but he was practically glowing. "So, what do you think, Tyra?" he asked. "Isn't he cute?"

"He's definitely cute," Tyra said. "When can I hold him?"

"In about half an hour when he's getting his next meal," Detrallin said. "We already found out that he doesn't like carrots."

Feadri grinned. "Yes, the red spots on my shirt are proof of that."

Tyra felt an unexpected sort of bubbling excitement well up in his chest. "During feeding? Does that mean I can try feeding him myself?"

"Why not? I think your shirt could use some pea-green dots as well," Feadri told him, grinning.

Detrallin smiled at his oldest son. "No, really, you can try it. The nurses said that it's best for a baby if he's taken care of by his family as soon as possible."

"Great!" Tyra could hardly wait to try it out. "Hey, but before that, is dad awake yet?"

Feadri shook his head. "No, not yet. But the doctors said that he should wake up in about two or three hours."

"So, I guess I wait around until it's time to feed the little guy, then," Tyra said. "By the way, has the doctor said when dad'll be released to go home?"

"Tomorrow, most likely; it depends on how he'll be feeling. But don't worry, your father had enough practice already with you two," Detrallin remarked. "Come on, let's drink a cup of coffee together first."

Tyra agreed — as a university student, he knew better than to turn down free food. So he followed along behind his sire and brother to the cafeteria after one more quick glance at his cute new baby brother.

After the coffee break, Tyra successfully fed his new little brother some peas and rice and managed not to get too sprinkled with food. Little Selvyn already tried to smile, and when he didn't like something, he scrunched his face adorably.

Sadly, Tyra had to return to his classes in the afternoon, but as soon as they had ended, he was back in the hospital. To his delight, Lissem had already woken up and was entertaining guests: Sally and her mother.

As soon as Tyra opened the door, Sally hugged him fiercely, barely giving him room to breathe.

"Oof!" Tyra grunted. "Hey there, long time no see, Sally. I guess you've met my new little brother already then and I don't get to make the introductions." Tyra put on a mock frown.

"Of course! And he's such a darling!" Sally let go of him and smiled.

It was strange, Tyra noted. He had been used to seeing Sally every day, and now that they didn't meet frequently any more, he noticed some changes: different hair style, high heels instead of sneakers, and her figure had filled out a bit more. All in all, Sally looked more grown-up, more feminine.

"Tyra darling!" Lissem called. "You have to see what Sally brought for Selvyn. It's a mobile she made herself! She's such an artist."

Sally's cheeks colored. "Nah, it's nothing."

"Hey, let me be the judge of that," Tyra insisted. So Sally bashfully picked up the mobile from the side table and showed it to him. It was wonderfully detailed, with soft, hand-sewn baby chicks and baby bunnies dangling from the arms of the metal rods. Stiffened, curled ribbons dangled down from the center.

"See, now that's adorable," Tyra declared.

"Thanks, but really, if I had more time, it would have gotten even better," Sally said. "And then..."

"Sally, just take the praise for once," Mrs. Kendrick interrupted her, laughing.

Meanwhile, Tyra had gotten to the bed and carefully hugged his father.

"How're you feeling, dad?" Tyra asked gently. "Are they going to let you out of this joint tomorrow?"

"I'm still a bit tired, but fine, thanks," Lissem replied. He was practically glowing, Tyra noticed. "And I can go home tomorrow. The doctors forbade me any strenuous activities, but I guess I can live with sitting on the couch and relaxing for a change."

Tyra went over and poked Feadri in the ribs. "You hear that, rat? No loud music, no chemistry explosions upstairs, and definitely no video games for the next couple of days."

Feadri squeaked and rubbed his side. "Hey, I wasn't going to do any of that."

Lissem reached out and affectionately ruffled Feadri's hair. "He's going to help me a lot since he's not the baby of the family anymore."

"See?" The young lifebearer shot Tyra a proud look.

Tyra shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, fine. Just don't get a big head since you're the only big brother at home now."

Detrallin approached Tyra then and put a heavy arm around his shoulders. "Stop worrying so much, Tyrallin. I swear, you've become even more protective since you moved into the dorm."

"No wonder since I can't look after Feadri the way I used to," Tyra replied.

Feadri pouted. "Hey, I'm old enough to get by fine! And it's not as if I'd go to any discos or clubs and meet all sort of slimeballs. I have better things to do with my time."

Tyra opened his mouth to make a retort to Feadri's comment, but Mrs. Kendrick cut him off first.

"So, Lissem dear, are you going to be having any sort of celebration? Lashran typically have a welcoming party for the baby, don't you? I vaguely recall you having one for Feadri years and years ago."

Lissem beamed at her. "Of course I'll have one! You and Sally are invited as well, and I guess it's a good opportunity to invite some older friends and family members we haven't seen for a long time. I'll tell you the date as soon as I'm back on my feet again."

Feadri gently nudged Tyra in the ribs and shot him a meaningful look.

Tyra snorted and swatted Feadri's arm. "Dad, it's okay if you say no — it really is okay — but could I maybe bring, um..." Tyra hesitated.

"Bring whom?" Lissem asked, looking at his eldest son. "Jerrik and your other friends are welcome, too. And you could also bring some of your new buddies from university. I'd like to meet them."

"Could I bring Elain?" Tyra finally managed to spit out the question.

Silence descended very quickly. Some of the people present looked at Tyra. The others looked at Lissem, waiting for his answer.

Lissem's radiant face fell a bit, but the usual frown associated with the mention of Elain didn't show up. He sighed deeply. "Well, I guess I kind of promised to consider inviting him. And if you can promise me that he won't scare my other guests or anything... then bring him along, for Forests' sake."

"He won't, dad. It'll be fine; I promise," Tyra replied.

"Good," Sally said with somewhat forced cheer. "Won't it be fun? I can't remember the last time I went to a party at your house. Can we bring any treats?"

"Bring your famous apple pie, Sally, if you have time to make it," Feadri suggested. "Everyone will love it."

"Elain? Isn't that your boyfriend, Tyra?" Mrs. Kendrick asked. "Now I'm curious, too."

Tyra felt his ear tips begin to heat up. "Yeah, that's my boyfriend. I'll make sure to introduce you at the party, Mrs. Kendrick."

Mrs. Kendrick smiled as radiantly as her daughter. "I'll look forward to it. But I warn you; if he's too good-looking, I might steal him away."

"Mom!" Sally chided. "I thought you were seeing that fitness trainer of yours? Or was it your new colleague? Those guys all look the same."

The situation was so absurd that everyone burst out laughing, even Lissem. Detrallin had mercy on Tyra and steered the conversation away from the sensitive matter of his significant other. "It should be just about time for another feeding. I'll go see whether a nurse is bringing Selvyn yet."

"I'll come with you," Tyra readily volunteered.

He couldn't suppress a sigh of relief as he left the room.

His sire smiled at him. "See? He gave in."

"Yeah, geez, what a load off," Tyra said with a huge sigh. "Sire, I really appreciate all your help along the way. I know you've been trying to get him to relax about it. So, you know, thanks."

"No problem, son." Detrallin put his arm around Tyra's shoulders. "I want to see you happy, and I'm sure that Lissem didn't feel well holding that grudge. He's just concerned about you, but neither he nor I can decide what's best for you or with whom you want to share your life."

Tyra couldn't think of any other response to that other than to nod in agreement. "I'm glad it worked out this way. We can get them in the same room, make 'em take a look at each other, but with the party going on, they won't have to interact much right away."

"They don't have to be best friends, but I guess it's a huge success if they behave civil around each other." Detrallin snorted. "Forests, this reminds me so much of me meeting Lissem's parents. His father downright hated me for 'stealing his precious son'. It took years for him to warm up to me."

Tyra gave his sire a sardonic look. "Thanks. That makes me feel so much better. Ugh, what a mess. And it's pretty much my fault. Well, at least dad's normally pretty bad at holding grudges. I'll just have to see how it goes."

Detrallin squeezed Tyra's shoulder. "Don't worry. And no, it's not your fault. Nobody can help falling in love, and everything else was just bad luck. Let's just see what will happen. And tell your Elain that he should compliment little Selvyn a lot."

Tyra tried to picture Elain cooing and fawning over a baby, and the mental image was so incongruous that it made him laugh. "I'll let him know to be generous with his praise."

"Well, it's a good thing that Elain is used to big parties," Detrallin said. "This is going to be a significant event. Both sets of grandparents have already said that they'll come for the party and to visit. We might get even more relatives coming out from under their rocks, too."

Tyra snorted. "So it's going to be an excuse for an overdue family reunion, is that it?"

"Of course! Better than a funeral, right? And the only other happy occasion would be a bonding, but since two of your cousins are already bonded and the others are still too young, we'll have to wait for you and Feadri. And I guess that'll take a bit of time." Detrallin looked at his son. "Or do you have any serious plans yet? I hope not."

Tyra gave his dad a half smile. "Of course I have serious plans. They're just long-term plans is all," he confessed.

Detrallin raised his eyebrows. "You do know that a relationship, especially the first real one, doesn't necessarily last forever?"

Tyra shrugged and looked away. "Hey, don't worry about it. I haven't even talked to him about it, and I'm not going to even bring it up until after college. That's why I said long-term."

"Good," Detrallin answered with an approving look. "An lot of things can happen in a few years, so you shouldn't rush it, that's all I ask."

"No problem," Tyra said with a small shrug.

He followed his sire quietly as they went to collect little Selvyn. He couldn't blame his sire for his concerns, but at the same time, well, Tyra already had his heart set on Elain in every way.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Although it was way past his usual work time, Elain was still in his office when Tyra came to visit him a few days later. He was striding back and forth in front of his desk, shuffling papers and talking to someone on the phone. When Tyra peeked in, he only heard the end of the conversation.

"I do hope that you'll have some results by the end of the week," Elain said, sounding irritated. "This has gone far enough. You can call me day and night when you have found a solid lead."

Tyra raised his eyebrows as he approached the desk. When Elain turned off the phone and put it down, he asked, "Something serious going on, Elain?"

The lifebearer whirled around, alarm on his face. "Forests, Tyra, you startled me!" Then he sighed and rubbed over his eyes; his glasses lay forgotten on the desk. "What a day. I do hope that yours was better."

Tyra smiled gently. "Hey, you've got little marks on your nose from where your glasses were resting. Maybe it's time to consider getting some contacts?" he suggested.

"I tried different types of contacts once, but the ones with slit pupils look absolutely fake, and tinted ones just darken my vision too much. So it has to be the glasses." Elain reshuffled another stack of paper and then turned around to Tyra. "Let's go upstairs."

Together they started heading for the elevator. "Slit pupils? You mean fake contacts, not prescription ones? And why slit pupils? That'd just make you look a little sire-ish."

"Yes, that was the intention, but as I said, the glasses work better. I thought you had noticed already that they're not prescription glasses. There's nothing wrong with my eyesight." Elain slid his key card into the scanner to call the elevator.

"No, I hadn't noticed," Tyra admitted. He followed Elain into the elevator and leaned against a wall as the doors slid closed. "If they're not prescription, why do you use them?"

Elain hesitated. It was a bit strange to explain habits that had been become his second nature during the years. But then he said, "To hide my eyes. Tell me, when did you realize that I was a lifebearer?"

Tyra was flabbergasted and couldn't respond at first. The elevator dinged open, and as they stepped out onto the tenth floor, Elain gave him an arched brow. "Um, I think it was when we were mixing drinks that first time. When I kissed you."

"Quite a long time, don't you think? But it really does speak for you that you kissed me nevertheless." Elain opened the door and caught Velvet before she could sink her claws into Tyra's jeans. The cat had taken a real fancy to using the sire as her climbing tree.

"Well, I decided you looked too delicious to pass up no matter what," Tyra said with an appreciative look at Elain. "So, why exactly do you feel you need to hide those pretty violet eyes?"

This compliment elicited a little smile from Elain. He sat down on the couch with Velvet, stroking her fur. "This is a world of sires and men, Tyra, especially in my business. I realized very early on that if I wanted to compete with them, I... well, I had to be one of them. Of course they realize sooner or later that I'm a lifebearer, but by then I've had the chance to establish enough respect already. And it was a good method to keep unwanted attention away, too."

Tyra thought about this for a few moments, and then a slow grin spread across his face. "It didn't keep me away, though."

"No, and for that I'm grateful. " Elain patted the cushion next to him invitingly. "So, no comments about how strange I am?" he asked, only half joking.

Tyra sauntered over to the couch and sat down next to Elain and put an arm around his shoulders. "You're the strangest person I've ever met. You're so strange that you've cornered the market on strange. I think, in fact, you might be the strangest person to ever--"

Elain put a hand across Tyra's mouth to shut him up.

"And you are the most brazen person I've ever met," Elain retorted dryly. "So I guess we fit." He pulled away his hand, giving Tyra a teasingly short kiss on the lips.

Tyra gave a little pleased hum at the kiss, but when Elain pulled back, he didn't follow for more like he normally would. Instead, he tucked a strand of hair behind Elain's ear and asked, "So, what happened today? Why was it a bad day, lovely?"

Elain sighed. "You remember the rumors about my business embezzling charity money? The rumors stopped, but I could never find out who spread them in the first place. And today I found bad news again; the tabloids claim that drug dealers are selling their merchandise in the open at the Velvet Shadow. It's a ludicrous claim since my security is perfect and such a thing has never happened here since I've owned the club, but it's damaging to my reputation."

Tyra frowned. "That is pretty serious. Do you think there's a connection between the two incidents?"

"I can only guess, but I won't wait to see if it's getting worse, so I hired a private investigator to find out who's behind this. I still think that some vengeful person is to blame, and this time I want to find out who it is," Elain answered grimly.

Tyra couldn't help but grin. "Really? A PI. That's pretty cool. I used to read stories about PIs when I was a kid. They always fascinated me. "

"Well, this one is one of the most highly acclaimed investigators in Valkyrie Falls, and I hope he does his job." Elain stroked Velvet, and the cat purred contentedly. "I'm so fed up with this. Nobody ever held such a grudge, and if they did, they fought on fair terms, not this dirty way."

Tyra leaned in to nuzzle Elain's cheek. "Well, when he finds the culprit, 'cause he definitely will, I'll treat you to something nice to celebrate, your choice."

"Thanks. But my biggest reward will be finding and putting down the culprit." Elain sighed again, then he managed a smile. "Let's talk about something nicer."

"Sex?" Tyra said with a big smile. "That's something nicer."

"And there I thought sex is something we do, not something we talk about," Elain remarked dryly, although is eyes glittered with humor. "Or do you have new things from your fascinating manual you want to share?"

"Hmm, the manual says that talking about sex can be very revealing," Tyra said, and as he spoke he leaned in to kiss along the side of Elain's face, "because you can find out all sorts of things about your partner's likes and dislikes. And you can get revved up in the process. Mmm." Tyra shifted to nibble on the tip of Elain's ear.

Although it wasn't as nearly as sensitive as Tyra's ear, Elain couldn't suppress a little purring noise. "If just mentioning it gets you so excited, what will happen if we ever tried real dirty talk?" he whispered.

Tyra paused briefly and gave Elain a very serious, earnest look. "You'd have to finally make good on your promise to tie me to the bed and have your wicked way with me, most likely."

"Well, I still have the fur-padded handcuffs that Marithia gave to me..." Elain grew serious again, too. "If you really want to try it, alright. But not today. I'd prefer a hot bath, and not necessarily alone."

Tyra smiled. "I think I'd like to try just about anything with you, but we've got a lot of time to explore, so there's no need to do anything right away."

"Yes, you're right." Elain leaned against Tyra. "So, how was your day?"

"Pretty normal. Class, homework, the usual," Tyra said. "But, oh, I almost forgot. Keep November twenty-ninth available. My parents are having a welcoming party for Selvyn, and we're both invited."

For a moment, Elain didn't quite trust his ears. "Did you say we both? Your father really wants to invite me?"

Tyra opted not to mention that his father had to be pressured into inviting Elain. "Yes, and I think it'll help you both to get to meet each other under more normal circumstances. We need to put that whole mess from this past spring behind us for good."

Elain nodded. "I'll try my best to finally get on his good side. But what should I bring as a present? I have absolutely no idea what would be appropriate for a baby."

"Well, I know it's hard to keep babies cleaned up, so fresh clothes and fresh blankies are always in demand," Tyra mused. "I don't know much beyond that. Baby room decorations? Toys? I'd better look into this. I need to get Selvyn a present, too."

"I guess I have to ask some of my employee who have children, then," Elain decided. "I just hope nobody gets the idea of shoving the child into my arms at the party. I only know how to carry a cat."

Tyra chuckled. "Aww, come on, it's not that much different, really. You should try it. It's kind of warm and cosy, really, and Selvyn's so cute right now."

"Well, a brother of yours has to be cute, of course. But I never found children that adorable, to be honest. Luckily I don't have to deal with them usually." Elain hesitated. "You love children, don't you?"

"Absolutely," Tyra said. "Lots of fun to play with, and you just never know what they're going to say. In my junior year of high school, we had a project where we had to help teach a grade school class some lessons. Made me think about being a teacher for a while. I decided against it, though. I knew I needed something with more problem solving."

Elain nodded. "Although I could imagine you teaching. Maybe you'll get a chance for it someday."

"You think so?" Tyra smiled at the thought. "Yeah, you're right. It's nice that we have such long lives, isn't it? Maybe someday I'll teach a class on architecture at a university."

"Sounds good."

Elain could readily imagine Tyra in front of a class, telling a bunch of bright-eyed kids animatedly about a subject he loved. And given how he talked about his new little baby brother, he'd also make a good parent himself someday.

That train of thought came to an abrupt halt as Elain realized what exactly he was thinking. He wasn't a parent person at all and was most likely too old already to bear any children, so if Tyra wanted some of his own... he had to look elsewhere. Strangely enough, that thought stung more that Elain wanted to admit to himself.

Tyra abruptly stood up from the couch and offered a hand to Elain. "How about we continue this conversation while soaking in the tub, lovely?"

Elain gently scooped up Velvet from his lap and placed her on the now free cushion next to him, then he took Tyra's hand. "Dare I hope for a back rub?" he asked, smiling.

Tyra pulled Elain to his feet and then slid an arm around his waist. "I think there's a pretty reasonable chance of you getting a back rub. Touchy feely baths are my favorite," he said with a lascivious grin.

Elain didn't argue on that at all and let himself be led into the bathroom where his decadently huge jacuzzi waited.

~*~

A few weeks later it was Tyra's nineteenth birthday. Elain had tried clearing his appointments for that day, but everything seemed to conspire against him to pile more work on his desk and remind him of more important people he had to meet. Luckily, Tyra had dinner with his parents, but when Elain finally managed to leave his office, it was half past ten already. He rushed to the elevator, hoping that Tyra hadn't been waiting too long already.

However, when he reached his apartment, he found that Tyra had arrived only a few moments before him and hadn't even taken off his shoes yet. He was standing in the kitchen with an over-sized, over-frosted cupcake in his hand.

"Hi, welcome home," Tyra said with a smile. He had a tiny blob of white frosting on his chin, and the effect made him look very young.

"Hello Tyra. Sorry I'm late." Elain quickly pulled off his shoes and jacket and came over to Tyra, giving in to the urge to lick off the bit of frosting. "Happy birthday to you."

Tyra hummed appreciatively and kissed Elain. Tyra tasted like the sweet cupcake he'd been eating. When Tyra pulled back, he asked, "Since it's my birthday, can I unwrap you now?" and reached to start loosening Elain's tie.

"I have another present for you first. Don't you want to see it?" Elain asked, smiling.

Tyra paused. "I suppose I can behave for a few minutes," he said with a sigh.

Elain went to the cupboard and pulled out a little wrapped box, then he gave it to Tyra. When he unwrapped and opened it, he found a silver wrist watch with a lid. Tiny silver pearls rolled loosely around under the glass, and like a game of skill for children, there were some indentations that those pearls could fall into with careful moving. Under the lid was a digital display which promised a dozen functions.

"Take a look at the underside of the lid," Elain said, smiling.

There Tyra found an engraving.

"For Tyra from Elain with eternal love," it said.

Tyra felt something warm and wonderful settle in his chest when he read those words. He looked at Elain briefly and then at the watch again, and he wordlessly placed it on his wrist.

He reached up to cup Elain's face with one hand. "I love it. Thank you so much, Elain," he said earnestly.

"I'm glad you like it. I must admit it took me a while to find it," Elain admitted, leaning into the touch.

Tyra grazed his thumb across Elain's cheekbone. The words of advice he had received from his sire came to his mind unbidden. Tyra was young. This was his first love. Relationships don't necessarily last, especially the first.

Fuck that, Tyra thought, we belong together.

He sealed his silent vow with a kiss.

Elain eagerly replied the kiss, and soon they found themselves in an almost desperate embrace. Somehow they managed to stumble to the couch and fell on it with an 'oompf'.

Tyra quickly went to work unwrapping his favorite present of all, and once Elain was naked, Tyra shucked his own clothes and set about demonstrating the strength of his passion and love for Elain.

In return, Elain set out to pleasure Tyra as much as he could, even giving him a blowjob, something he wasn't too fond of and therefore rarely did. But seeing Tyra helpless with passion as a reward was more than enough.

Eventually they migrated to the bed, where they continued on long into the night. At some point, they both fell asleep, lying entwined with their bodies still joined.

 

 

Elain awoke first in the morning. A glance at the clock told him that he still had plenty of time, so he contented himself with gazing down at his lover's relaxed face. Nineteen was still pretty young, but step by step Tyra was moving toward a point where their relationship didn't seem indecent for the public anymore. Elain didn't have a problem with keeping their relationship secret, but on the other hand he admitted he looked forward to meeting Tyra's family and friends. It was such a normal, simple world, a world he had never really known, but since he had met Tyra, Elain realized that his life was lacking this kind of peace. Sure, it might be difficult dealing with all those people, but Elain was set on it.

Elain's thoughts were interrupted when Tyra rolled over and mumbled in his sleep. "Blueberry jam, please," he said.

Elain laughed softly. "What about breakfast in bed?", he whispered into the sire's ear.

Tyra's eyes slowly blinked open and he glared at Elain. "Leave me alone," he grumbled and pulled a pillow over his head. "You overworked me. I need more sleep."

"I overworked you? Where's your youthful vigor when an old man like me can wear you out?" Elain tickled Tyra a bit.

Tyra peeked out from under the pillow. "How can you be so perky? Go back to sleep." Tyra rolled over and manhandled Elain back to the bed, wrapping his arms and legs around the lifebearer as though he were a long body pillow.

"Alright, I guess breakfast can wait." Elain wrapped his arms around Tyra and closed his eyes again. As perfect as their sex was, quiet moments like this were heaven.

~*~

 

"Tyra, could you get the mini quiches out of the oven, please?" Lissem asked him quietly as he passed next to Tyra as he moved about the crowded living room.

The welcoming party for little Selvyn was in full swing. Tyra had helped to rearrange the furniture this morning, and the whole Alwick family had been busily making treats since then. No sooner was one set of baked goods done than another had to be put in. Meanwhile, little Selvyn was oblivious to his immediate family's tasks as hosts. He simply sat in his father's arms and was carried around the room like a tiny prince.

"I'll get it," Tyra said.

He managed to get from the living room to the kitchen where Feadri and Lissem's father stood, animatedly talking about science. The mini quiches were overdue already, but both lifebearers were too deeply in conversation to notice.

Tyra quickly pulled them out and put them on a tray, venturing out again in the living room. Meanwhile the door bell had run, and he spotted Elain standing at the entrance, talking with Detrallin.

Tyra hurriedly darted back into the kitchen and handled the tray of quiches to his grandfather.

"Grandpa, could you take these out to the living room please? There's something I have to take care of," he pleaded.

"Of course," his grandfather agreed and took the tray.

Feadri looked at his brother curiously. "Is everything okay? Can I help you?"

"Sort of, but not just yet. Give me a minute," Tyra said. Without hesitating, he turned around and went back to the front hallway.

"Hi Elain," Tyra said a little awkwardly. He wasn't at all sure how to greet his lover in front of his sire. "Is it too late for me to make the introductions?"

"No, of course not. Your sire just let me in, so he's the only one I've met yet," Elain answered with a smile that was definitely a bit on the awkward side. He was looking more casual than Tyra had ever seen him outside of the apartment: sweater, slacks, a thin jacket, no glasses, hair put behind the ears.

"Okay, well then," Tyra said, and he cleared his throat. "Sire, this is Elain. Elain, Detrallin Alwick." He watched as the two shook hands.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Elain," his sire said. "If it'd been up to me, we would have met sooner, so I apologize for the delay."

"No, I understand completely. And I'm very grateful that you and your bondmate invited me, Mr. Alwick," Elain answered.

"Would you like to come in and have something to eat?" Tyra asked.

However, before Elain even had a chance to respond, Tyra heard a gasp from the kitchen doorway, and suddenly Feadri was at his side, clutching at his arm.

"It's him, right? Come on, introduce me!" Feadri urged Tyra. Since Elain hadn't been able to come to Feadri's science contest celebration, they hadn't met yet.

"Geez, you little spaz," Tyra said affectionately. "Fine. As you already guessed, this is my boyfriend Elain. Elain, my not-so-new little brother, Feadri. We wish he were still small and helpless so he wouldn't be able to cause so much trouble."

"Tyra!" Feadri griped.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Feadri," Elain said with a much less strained smile, offering his hand. "And don't believe a word Tyra says. He adores you just the way you are."

"Oh, I know that," Feadri said with complete confidence as he shook Elain's hand. "He opens his mouth to start complaining about me and all I hear is blah blah blah." Feadri turned a smug smile to Tyra at this, but Tyra only rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm so glad to finally meet you. Can I come see your club sometime?"

"I'm afraid you have to be a legal adult to visit my club. However, if your parents allow, you can come visit me and I'll show you around the club during daytime," Elain offered. "Normally, only VIPs get such a tour."

"Oh, wow, can I, sire?" Feadri pleaded.

"We could have him come for a tour and then lunch some weekend," Tyra suggested.

"I guess it would be alright," Detrallin agreed. "Well, as long as your father agrees, Feadri."

The young lifebearer's face fell. "He'll never allow it."

Detrallin smiled. "We'll see. Now, Tyra, why don't you introduce Elain to our little Selvyn?"

Tyra looked at his sire for a moment. Introducing him to Selvyn also meant introducing him to Lissem. This would be interesting.

"Of course." Tyra said. "Come on in, Elain. It's a little bit crowded, but it's nothing compared to the club on a busy night." Tyra held out a hand toward Elain and belatedly remembered that Elain wasn't one for public displays of any kind.

Nevertheless, Elain took the offered hand after a moment of hesitation and let himself be led through the crowd. He could feel the other guests look at him, but they just seemed to be curious. Elain just hoped that none of them recognized him.

They came to a corner of the room, where Lissem stood with his back to them, talking with Tyra's uncle and cousins and Mrs. Kendrick. As soon as there was a slight lull in the conversation, Tyra broke in.

"Dad? Do you have a minute?"

Lissem turned around, his smile fading as he recognized Elain. "Mr. Silvestri," he greeted Elain with an indifferent voice.

"Mr. Alwick, thank you very much for your invitation and congratulations to your new family member. I wish you all the best." Inwardly, Elain had never felt this nervous before. He really wanted to make peace with Lissem Alwick, and this would most likely be the only chance he would ever get.

"Here's a little present for the baby," he added, holding out a colorful, wrapped box. After a long time conversing with his employees who had children, Elain had decided on a music box that played an old and very beautiful lullaby.

"Thank you," Lissem said as graciously as he could manage. "Here, Tyra, take Selvy." Lissem handed the baby over to Tyra, who readily took him and immediately started babbling little inanities at the baby. Lissem then took the gift from Elain and turned it over in his hands a couple of times thoughtfully before unwrapping it.

Elain caught himself holding his breath while Lissem was unwrapping the present. If he didn't like it...

But his worries were unfounded. As much as Lissem tried to hide his delight, it was obvious on his face as he wound up the music box. It was decorated with the figures of a little dog and a little cat who started to chase each other as the music began to play.

Selvyn also seemed to approve. He waved his arms in the air and smiled when the music began to play. Tyra laughed and bounced the baby in his arms.

"Well, this is... very delightful," Lissem admitted with a cautious smile toward Elain. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome," Elain answered with a relieved smile of his own. "I have to admit I never had to choose a present for a child, so I was very doubtful whether it was the right one."

Lissem smiled and gave a small shrug. "Well, honestly, it's very hard to go wrong when they're this young. All right, Tyra, here, give me Selvy back." Lissem said, holding out his arms.

Tyra, however, moved out of reach, holding his little brother close. "Nope. You've had him for the past half hour. I'll take him around for just a bit and then give him back. Or more likely one of the grandparents will get a hold of him first."

Lissem gave mock sigh. "Alright, alright. Let the grandparents have their fun as long as they're here." Then he turned to Elain again. "Maybe you'd like to try some of my quiches or have something to drink?"

"Of course. Tyra told me you're an excellent cook," Elain agreed.

Lissem looked at him for a moment, clearly trying to assess whether he was just being flattered, but then he decided to take it as a real compliment.

When Elain turned a questioning eye toward Tyra, he quickly said, "You go on and do the taste testing. I'll escort Selvy around for a bit, and I'll come find you after he gets stolen from me."

Elain nodded agreeably and followed Lissem. Tyra expected to be caught by one of the grandparents any moment, but it was Sally instead who came toward him. "Hey, you got the little bundle of joy! Did I already mention that a baby looks good on you?" Then she peered over his shoulder. "Was that Elain? I almost didn't recognize him."

Tyra smiled smugly. "Looks nice today, doesn't he?" In his arms, Selvyn waved chubby little arms at Sally. "Hey, did you meet my two college friends yet? I left them talking to Atsayal and Jamie, but that was just before you arrived."

"No, I didn't. C'mon, introduce me to them! One of them is in your freshman class and the other in senior year, right?" Sally asked.

"Yeah, Max and Rhaval," Tyra said. "They're both really cool. Rhaval's been a huge help to me already this semester."

"Yeah, you told me about it. Wasn't he the student you met on your first visit to Dalling?" Sally asked. "Although it's somehow strange that you need help with anything - except for finding the restrooms, if I recall correctly." She grinned.

"Geez, I really can't believe you're still going on about that one," Tyra said. Meanwhile, he led Sally through the house to the sun room at the back, where more visitors were lounging and sipping at cups of tea and punch. Rhaval, Max, Jamie, and Atsayal were here, and the group suddenly burst into laughter at something Max had said.

"Hey! Look who managed to get hold of the baby!" Tyra announced to the room in general. No sooner had he said it than his cousin's bondmate swooped down upon him and scooped up the little one out of Tyra's arms.

"Not for long!" the lifebearer said. "Who's a little darling?" he said to little Selvyn.

"Well, that sure didn't last long," Tyra said with a chuckle.

"What did you expect? As long as your cousin doesn't have a kid of his own, he's bound to snatch others," Atsayal remarked with only a hint of sarcasm in his voice, but he was smiling. "By the way, Max just told us about your first field trip some weeks ago."

"Come on, Max, not that again," Tyra groaned while his friends snickered. "Although I guess you and Sally would get along greatly since she just dug up some old stories, too. Sally, meet Max and Rhaval."

Max, a human with short brown hair and a playful grin, held out his hand to Sally. "Nice to meet you," he said. Sally shook his hand and said "hello" in return.

Next was Rhaval, a sire with a much more reserved air than the human Max, although he also seemed very friendly. He was tall and had very striking light red hair. "Any friend of Tyra's is a friend of mine," he said easily as he shook Sally's hand.

"Tyra already told me that he'd be lost without you at the university," Sally said. Then she looked at him more closely. "By the way, did we meet before? You look familiar somehow."

"Sally-snuggles, I thought that cheap pick-up line has been outdated for decades now," Atsayal remarked, causing another round of good-natured laughing.

"No, I mean it," the girl insisted.

Rhaval smiled. "No, we haven't met before. Tyra should invite you all over for a student union movie sometime. Then we can really hang out and talk."

"I'd love to," Sally answered, still looking at the young sire in a way Tyra already knew as her assessing artist mode. Something was clearly distracting her from the further conversation, and for a moment Tyra thought that Rhaval was simply Sally's type.

But his assumption proved to be wrong when Sally finally nudged his ribs and quietly told him, "Now I know why Rhaval seems so familiar. He looks a bit like Elain. Didn't you notice?"

Tyra frowned and gave Rhaval a considering look. "I hadn't really thought of it. I suppose so. Kind of around the nose and chin." Tyra shrugged. "Elain's prettier."

Sally grinned. "I won't argue, loverboy. But it's a really funny coincidence."

"Hey, what are you guys whispering about?" Max asked curiously. "More embarrassing stories? You have to share them, Sally."

"Yeah, I was just going to tell her about the incident with the half-finished pizza box last week, Max," Tyra said with a smug grin.

"Ew, I don't think we want to hear that." Atsayal made a face. " But speaking of food, shouldn't we try to get some more of those wonderful quiches Tyra's father made?"

That suggestion met everyone's approval.

The group wandered together into the living room where the buffet was set up on a long table against one of the walls. When they entered the room, Tyra's immediately and unconsciously started scanning the faces in the room to find where Elain had gotten to. However, he didn't see his lover immediately. Nor did he see his father. Perhaps the two were in the kitchen.

At least no loud voices or crashing dishes could be heard, so he decided that it was a good thing.

 

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Tyra had been right; Lissem and Elain were in the kitchen where Lissem had put the next plate of quiches into the oven. Elain had of course tried one of them and found them delicious, thus getting even more on Lissem's good side.

"You sure have a lot of family and friends," Elain remarked, hoping for a safe topic. He was still cautious.

Lissem looked at Elain in surprise. "What, this little gathering? I suppose you're right, but actually a lot of people couldn't make it. And Detrallin had to remind me not to invite my old theatre friends, because then we would have had to rent out a restaurant or a small banquet hall to fit everyone in." Lissem gave Elain a glance out of the corner of his eye as he put down his oven mit and pulled a box of crackers from the cupboard to arrange on a plate. "But surely you're used to such large crowds, considering your occupation."

"Yes I'm used to them, but I'm not necessarily fond of them," Elain admitted. "And catering to paying guests or business colleagues is very different from inviting friends and family."

Lissem finished piling up the crackers and got a wedge of cheese from the fridge and began slicing it. "That's definitely true. So I take it you don't see much of your family? Do they live far away?"

Elain unconsciously fidgeted with his glass. "My only remaining relative is my brother and whatever family he may have, and I haven't seen him in ages," he said. "We didn't part on the best of terms. So forgive me if family meetings are somewhat strange for me."

Lissem paused in his arrangements to give Elain a searching look. Somehow, despite the fact that Elain was very much Lissem's senior, Lissem had the feeling that the other lifebearer was somehow still missing out on knowledge that Lissem had learned a long time ago.

That little advantage distinctly pleased Lissem.

"Family's important," Lissem replied simply as he set cheese slices on the serving platter. "Friends, too. Tyra draws people into his circle effortlessly. He always has and he always will."

"Yes, I noticed that." Elain smiled slightly. "It's a wonderful gift, and you and your son are lucky to have good people to rely on in your life."

Lissem wondered whether Elain had truly understood all that he meant about his son, but he didn't press the issue. Instead, he offered the plate of crackers to Elain. "Would you mind taking these out to the buffet? The quiches should be warm enough in just a minute or two, so I'll need to take them out."

Elain took the plate. "Of course. I should have asked you sooner if I can help you with anything, Mr. Alwick. I'm no pro in the kitchen, but I understand at least a thing or two about drinks and snacks."

"Just Lissem is fine," Lissem replied. "I don't think I know anyone at all who calls me Mr. Alwick."

"Then Lissem it is. And please call me Elain," Elain offered, feeling the ice melt between them even more. He really liked the courageous and outspoken lifebearer, and it was a relief that they were now able to talk to each other.

Elain left the kitchen with the snack plate, once again returning to the bustling living-room full of people chatting happily.

As Elain walked into the room, he immediately spotted Tyra standing in a circle of people, laughing happily with them. His young lover was bright and open with other people — he thrived on the interaction.

Distracted, Elain set the plate of crackers down and then considered his options. Should he go to Tyra, or perhaps should he offer Lissem more assistance?

However, before he could make up his mind, the choice was taken away from him.

"Ah, there you are." It was Tyra's grandfather, Elain remembered, and he had little Selvyn in his arm. "Everyone in the family has held our little darling already - except you. Don't tell me you're afraid of little babies?"

Elain looked a bit swamped. "I'm afraid I'd drop him."

"Nonsense. He's fast asleep, so he's not even squirming right now," the older lashran said. "All you have to do is hold on. Here you go."

And suddenly, despite Elain's protests, he had an armful of tiny Alwick.

Despite his fears, the baby didn't threaten to fall. Elain had instinctively tightened his grip a bit, and the little sire was now comfortably lying in his arm.

"See? It's easy," Tyra's grandfather said, smiling.

Elain nodded. It was really nice, holding the warm and strangely sweet-smelling Selvyn like this. It was indeed not so different from carrying his cat.

 

~*~

 

Tyra was enjoying himself thoroughly, munching on homemade snacks and catching up with his friends. For a while, he even forgot to worry about what was going on with his father and his boyfriend.

"Tyra, who is that holding Selvyn now?" Max asked. "Is he part of your family, too?"

Tyra looked over to find his grandfather standing next to Elain, and Elain was holding the tiny sire in his arms and looking somewhat shell shocked. Tyra could easily hazard a guess as to how many times in his life Elain had held a baby, and his guess was zero.

But... at the same time... it made a really nice picture.

"Um, well, kind of. That's my boyfriend," Tyra said without taking his eyes off Elain.

"Your boyfriend? Why didn't you introduce us?" Max asked. "I didn't even know you had one. Hey Rhaval, did he tell you?"

Rhaval shook his head, but he was still looking at Elain as well, his eyebrows knitted in confusion.

Tyra tore his gaze away from Elain and shrugged a little awkwardly. "Well, I can fix that now. Come on, I'll introduce you."

The others readily agreed, and the little group crossed the living room.

Elain was finally relaxing a bit with the baby in his arms when he noticed Tyra.

"Don't worry, I'm not dropping your baby brother," Elain promised, smiling. "You were right; it's nice."

Tyra shook his head with a smile. "Nah, I wasn't worried about that. You're doing just fine. But I have some friends who wanted to meet you. Elain, this is Max, Rhaval, and Jamie. And you already met Sally. Jamie I know from high school, and Max and Rhaval are classmates at Dalling."

Elain managed to shift Selvyn so that he had a free hand for shaking. "It's nice to meet you," he said. "Tyra always told me that he has wonderful friends."

When he shook hands with Rhaval, the young sire asked, "I'm sorry to be so forward, but is your family by any chance from Nandar?"

"Yes, that's right," Elain answered, confused. "Now pardon me, but you're not a reporter, are you?" The last thing he needed was someone who recognized him.

Rhaval shook his head. "No, not at all. It's just that you look a lot like... well, no, nevermind. You just have a familiar face I suppose." Rhaval gave a small smile.

Elain eyed him in open suspicion. "Well, I must admit that you look somewhat familiar, too, but I'm sure we've never met."

Tyra looked back and forth between the two with some concern. He was about to open his mouth to interject something when Rhaval's mouth thinned and he shook his head as if in denial. "Okay, I know this is going to sound weird, but I just have to ask: You don't happen to have a brother named Nherin, do you?"

Elain was now really confused. "Yes, I do," he confirmed. "How do you know? I doubt that Tyra has told you that."

Tyra shook his head. "I didn't tell him."

Rhaval was silent for a very long moment, and everyone in the small group was watching him curiously. Finally he swallowed hard and said, "Actually, your brother's been looking for you for years. I know you from... well, a really old, black and white photograph he has. He always makes a point of taking it out and showing everyone at family reunions."

Elain quickly turned to Tyra and carefully gave the baby to him; his hands were actually shaking. Then he looked at Rhaval again. "Does that mean you're... I mean, we're related?"

Elain still couldn't believe it. Minutes ago he had been talking with Lissem about this topic, and now...

"What does Nherin look like?" he asked, wanting a real confirmation that the young sire wasn't playing a mean trick on him.

Rhaval seemed affronted at first, but he still answered the question. "He's a little shorter than you. His hair is lighter, and his eyes are wider. His eyes are dark green and not like yours at all. You, well, you're my great-great-uncle."

The description matched perfectly, and slowly Elain started to believe in Rhaval's words although it was a fantastic coincidence.

"I'm sorry, but I had to be sure," he apologized, managing a smile at last. "It's just that I never thought that I... Is Nherin alright? Is he happy? Where does he live now?"

In Tyra's arms, Selvyn began to wake, stretching his little hands. Tyra simply held his brother and bounced him as the scene before him unfolded.

Rhaval opened his mouth to answer a couple of times before the words finally came out. "He's, well, he's doing fine. He's still living in Nandar, along with his three sons. My dad and his brother and one of their cousins moved here to Valkyrie to start a business together a long time ago, so half the family is here and half's there." Rhaval shifted and looked away from Elain, staring at some small spec on the wall. "He's been trying to find you for longer than I've been alive." There was distinct accusation in Rhaval's tone.

"I had no idea." Elain took a deep breath. "I'm sure you've heard what happened back then, but I guess I've only recently realized how important having a family really is. Would you... would you give me his address? If he wants to see me at all."

"Actually, no, he's been really vague about why you disappeared." Rhaval pulled out his cell phone and flipped it open. "I'll give you his address and his cell phone number. And my cell number." Elain pulled out his own cell phone and began adding the contact information to it. "Look, I don't know what happened between you two. What I do know is that he's going to be really shocked, so I want to let him know first before you call him or write to him or whatever. Is that okay?"

"Yes, of course. Just contact me when you know how he reacted," Elain said, telling Rhaval his number as well. "And... if he doesn't want to hear from me at all, I understand." He hesitated a moment, then he asked, "What about Nherin's mate? Is he still bonded to Ardir Zefren?"

"Grandpa Ardy. Yeah. Why do you ask?" Rhaval asked in reply.

"Well, you could say he was the reason Nherin and I fell out with each other. But that's a very old story, and I guess it's time to put it behind me." Elain put his cell phone back into his pocket and managed to smile again.

"Yeah, definitely should be water under the bridge now," Rhaval bit his lip.

Selvyn chose that moment to start burbling and fussing in Tyra's arms, drawing everyone's attention. Rhaval looked at Tyra as if he'd completely forgotten about him. Then a light went on in Rhaval's eyes as something clicked into place.

"Tyra, what the hell? You're dating my long-lost great-great-uncle?" Rhaval sputtered.

Tyra shrugged helplessly with the baby still in his arms. "Uh, damn, well yeah, I am. Sorry, Rhav."

The others had been listening closely to the unfolding scene and now couldn't help but snicker at the sight of Rhaval and Tyra enacting a scene out of a soap opera.

"Rhaval, it's alright," Elain interjected. "I know it looks a bit odd, but we are happy together."

"That's not really..." Rhaval started, but then he shook his head. "Never mind. This is just all a bit overwhelming."

Tyra shifted the squirming Selvyn in his arms and looked between Elain and Rhaval. "Do you two want a chance to talk privately? I could let you guys have my father's den for a while."

Lissem approached them then and took Selvyn from Tyra's arms. "Here's the sire of the hour, my little darling." As soon as he had the baby secured in his arms, he looked around at the group of friends. "What's wrong? Tyra, what're you making that perplexed face for? Was there something wrong with the veggie dip?"

"No, your food's fine, Lissem. But Elain and Rhaval just had a family reunion," Sally told him.

Lissem raised his brows and looked back and forth between Elain and Rhaval a few times. "You two are...?"

"It seems he's my great-great-nephew," Elain replied, still a bit shocked from this discovery. But then he smiled. "So maybe I can start with putting some things right at last."

Lissem's jaw hung open for a moment, but then he snapped it shut. "Well! I don't even know what to say. Congratulations, I suppose?" Lissem looked at Tyra and then Elain again. "I do hope that one of these days you two will be able to simply attend a party under normal circumstances." He bounced Selvyn a few times in his arms with a smile, and then he walked off to speak with his father.

"That's my dad," Tyra said wryly. "Always likes to have the last word."

Elain shrugged elegantly. "Well, he does have a point. Let's see if we can manage the next time." Then he looked at Rhaval, asking carefully, "Maybe you'd like to meet for some coffee or lunch sometime? I would like to hear more about your... our family."

Rhaval nodded. "That'd be good. When would be convenient for you?"

From there, the conversation began to relax into small talk. Tyra kept an eye on his lover to try to read what was going on in that complicated mind of his, but to his eyes at least Elain seemed cool and collected once more. However, that just made Tyra all the more determined to talk to his lover later and see how he was feeling about this sudden revelation.

The baby party continued smoothly with lots of food, talk and little Selvyn wandering from arm to arm, but Tyra had to wait until the next day to have a chance to talk to Elain in private again. Nevertheless, he was glad to see how well Elain was received by his friends, his family and especially his father. Of course his grandparents and cousins, curious as ever, had lots of questions, and Elain avoided any topics related to age or occupation, but answered truthfully if asked. Luckily no one made a big fuss about him owning the Velvet Shadow.

 

The next day Tyra and Elain met for lunch at the little restaurant with traditional Nandar cuisine, enjoying the fresh salads and noodles.

The two of them spoke lightly for a short while, but Tyra didn't wait too long before asking, "So, have you and Rhaval set up a lunch yet?"

Elain nodded. "Yes, we'll meet next week. Rhaval promised me to contact Nherin until then, so I'll know if my brother is willing to talk to me. If that's the case, I'll take a teleport to Nandar on a weekend to meet him." He hesitated. "Maybe you'd like to come with me? I must admit I'm a bit… well, nervous about this."

Tyra was certain he looked just as surprised as he felt. That Elain was inviting him along like this... well, it felt pretty damn huge to Tyra. Honestly, there wasn’t a whole lot in Elain’s life that the lifebearer needed. When Tyra came into Elain’s life, the wealthy business owner lacked for nothing except companionship, love. Those Tyra happily gave. But now he finally had an opportunity to give something more, something important: support. The fact that his collected and self-sufficient lover was openly inviting that support was unexpected, and Tyra had to ruthlessly tell his sire ego to stop doing a happy dance inside his mind.

“I’ve never been to Nandar,” he replied. “Count me in. Can you just let me know ahead of time so I can make sure my schoolwork is done?”

"Of course," Elain replied. "In the worst case, Nherin doesn't want to talk to me at all, but I do hope there's a chance for us to reconcile at last." He heaved an uncharacteristic sigh and pulled a little crinkled photograph from his wallet, showing it to Tyra. "I actually had the picture of my family with me all this time," he confessed. "But I guess I wanted to stay angry at Nherin."

Tyra gingerly took the worn and faded photograph. It showed three lifebearers, all of them smiling for the camera. Elain looked very young — he must have been a teenager when the photograph was taken.

“You and your brother look a lot alike,” Tyra commented.

"I guess so, but Nherin was always considered the pretty one, while I was the smart one," Elain said with a slightly crooked smile. "That picture was taken shortly before father fell terminally ill. We had just moved into our relatives' vicinity, and things really started to look good. I was sixteen then, Nherin was eighteen."

It was indeed the picture of a happy family. The three lifebearers looked very much alike with their elegant faces, long straight hair and old-fashioned, flowing clothing. Elain was already taller than his brother with lanky limbs that lacked the grace he now possessed. His freckled face showed a carefree, innocent smile Tyra had been able to glimpse at some very rare occasions.

"Your father was very pretty," Tyra said as he handed the photograph back. "And I don't think you should be so worried. If Nherin didn't want to talk to you, he wouldn't have been searching for you all this time like Rhaval said."

"Yes, I guess so. But it's been such a long time, and I should have tried to find him as well." Elain carefully put the old picture back into his wallet. "It was really a lucky coincidence that Rhaval is your friend. I would have never met him if it wasn't because of you." Elain grabbed Tyra's hand and squeezed it briefly.

"Well, at least it was a good surprise this time," Tyra joked with a crooked smile.

"We should really try to keep those good ones," Elain agreed. " And I'm also happy about your father welcoming me. I also wanted to ask you if you think your parents would accept membership cards for my club - this time as a present?"

Tyra paused to chew a mouthful of noodles and thought about that for a moment. After he swallowed, he said to Elain, "I'm not sure. Just out of the blue? They might feel a little odd about accepting that. I think it might be best to wait for the next occasion and then give it to them. Sire's birthday is only three months away, so maybe then."

"Yes, that would be a good occasion," Elain agreed. "May I ask how old he'll be?"

Tyrallin blinked a few times before he gave Elain a sheepish look. "I think he's turning sixty-three, but I'll double-check with dad."

Elain nodded. Sixty-three… that number was another reminder of how vast the age gap between him and Tyra still was, although neither of them was considering it a big problem anymore. But at moments like these, both were reminded again of that not-so-little fact. Elain silently vowed to make sure that nobody in Nandar would take offence if he and Tyra visited Nherin. He remembered the country as very old-fashioned and traditional, and as far as the news on TV and internet went, that hadn't changed much during the last hundred years.

"... get started now rather than later. Elain? Did I lose you?" Tyra belatedly noticed Elain's distraction.

"I'm sorry, Tyra. I guess I'm still a bit confused about this whole family affair," Elain answered quickly. "What did you just say?"

"I was just asking when you think you'll want to head to Nandar. If you want to go next weekend, I have a project I need to get started on this weekend. But if you'd like to go later, I can put it off a while," Tyra said.

"That depends on Nherin's answer, but I don't think it will be next weekend already," Elain said. "I think it's going to be in two or three weeks, or maybe even later."

If Nherin wanted to see him at all - Elain was still very unsure about it. After everything that Rhaval had said, it was unlikely that Nherin didn't want to see his brother, but it had been a very long time. Now all Elain could do was wait.

 

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later Elain hadn't calmed down. On the contrary, his nerves were badly frayed ever since the private investigator he had hired had called. After a lot of research, spying, and bribing the right people, the PI had tracked the trail of gossip and slander to councilman Tavis. Ever since Elain had cancelled the councilman's membership at the club because the man had made indecent advances at Bowzer's lead singer after the band's performance, Elain hadn't heard anything from Tavis at all. It should have made him suspicious from the beginning because Tavis wasn't the kind of person who backed down when attacked. But instead of fighting back in the open, he had chosen the dirty way.

Now that Elain knew the culprit's identity, he had to decide how to use that knowledge. The PI's evidence was solid, but Tavis was a very influential man and good friends with the attorneys of the Valkyrie Falls court. So Elain had to be very, very careful and would ask his lawyer for advice first. Problem was, the man was on vacation for the next weeks, and Elain didn't trust anyone else with this.

While Elain was calling first the lawyer's office, then the teleport agency and the airport, he paced back and forth in his office. The afternoon sun was warm, heating up the room through the vast windows, and although Elain had turned up the air conditioner, he was still sweating.

The day wore on, and Elain kept a glass of ice water near at hand. Eventually, though, a long-forgotten, uncomfortable sensation began to nag at him. His business suit began feeling uncomfortable against his skin.

Elain didn't even recognize what was happening to him at first.

He still blamed the stress, the sun, the obviously defunct air conditioning, but when he pulled off his jacket, vest and tie and still felt strange, it slowly dawned on him what was happening.

"Oh damn, not now," he murmured. Elain went to his desk, pulled out the drawer and fished a little box out of the drawer's far corner. Inside the box was a bottle with tiny white pills, still unopened. Elain unscrewed the lid and quickly swallowed two pills. Then he sank back into his chair and tried to breathe calmly.

A blip sounded on his intercom. It was Conroy.

"Sorry to bother you sir, but you wanted a reminder fifteen minutes before the budget meeting."

Elain had totally forgotten about this, another alarming fact. But in his present condition it was impossible for him to walk into a room full of employees.

"Conroy, you have to cover for me today," he answered, trying to sound like usual. "I'm… in the middle of something here, and it can't wait."

Elain could almost feel Conroy's surprise through the moment of silence over the intercom. "I'll see to it, sir. Would you like me to bring you a report afterward?"

"No... it's alright if I'll have it tomorrow morning," Elain answered. "And I don't want to be disturbed for the rest of the day."

Then without waiting for an answer, he disconnected the call and took some deep breaths. The pills should start to work by now, but he wasn't feeling any better. On the contrary, it seemed to be getting worse. Impatiently Elain took two more pills, silently cursing the fact that he was still able to go into seasonals. The last time had been about two decades ago, and Elain had always been thankful for the fact that he rarely went into seasonals. He had hoped that he was too old now, but nature seemed to have other plans. Luckily Elain always had a stash of Amsinol in his desk to counter the effects to the point of being able to function normally, but the damn pills just didn't seem to be working today.

He quietly told himself to calm down and get back to work, but time seemed to slow down as he became more and more unable to focus on his duties. He checked the clock continually, and he unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, but it did very little to cool down his body temperature.

When his cock began to swell and stiffen in his pants, he fumbled for the bottle of Amsinol in the drawer and pulled it out with a shaking hand.

It wasn't recommended to take more than three or four pills at once, but Elain didn't care. As he tried to open the lid with unsteady fingers, his gaze fell on the little print on the side of the bottle. It was the expiration date, dated three years ago.

Elain groaned, pushing the bottle away. No wonder it didn't work. And where could he get a new bottle of Amsinol now? A glance at his watch told him that it was way past the Velvet Shadow's office hours, so Conroy and the other office employees had gone home already. And Marithia, the only other person he would have trusted with this, had her free night, having shut off her cell phone at home as he knew from experience.

The chair suddenly felt uncomfortable, and he stood up and started to walk around. If he just focused on something trivial, like math formulas or tomorrow's weather, he would surely be able to concentrate long enough to call a drugstore for a delivery. But it was getting harder and harder to think straight with every second that ticked by, and the fabric of his clothes seemed to practically burn his skin.

Determined, he went over to his chair to sit down and look up the number for a drug store, but before he could even begin to pull up a web browser to search, he discovered that he was rotating his bottom in the chair to try to ease the growing fire. He hissed between his teeth and gripped the armrests of the chair tightly, breathing deeply and telling his body firmly that it had to calm down right this instant.

An unexpected knock at the door interrupted him. The person on the other side didn't wait for an answer, though; Tyra came in after just a moment, carrying two plastic bags.

"Heya! I thought you might be here. I brought dinner," he hefted the bags in demonstration, "but you weren't in the apartment. Working late, lovely?" He made his way to the table in front of the couch and lounge chairs.

Elain was unable to make any coherent reply. All he could do was stare at Tyra who just crossed the office in an easy stride and leaned down to put the bags on the table. That movement showed off the sire's perfect backside, and suddenly Elain's throat was dry as sandpaper. Years of firm self-control had enabled Elain to easily resist the urge to jump his lover at every possible occasion, but now… now everything that mattered was the sight of his young lover in his tight jeans and T-shirt, smiling gently and looking absolutely irresistible.

Elain's feet practically moved on their own as he stood up and closed the distance between them.

Tyra started opening the bags of two individual salads and two rice-bowl dinners that he'd brought. When he looked up, Elain was striding purposefully toward him.

He smiled. "Hey, did you forget to eat lunch again? You look like you're starving."

Indeed, Elain was starving, but not for food. Any rest of common sense had went out of the window when Tyra had entered, and now there was only the desperate urge to somehow ease this burning inside his body.

With a swift movement, like a cat pouncing on its prey, Elain grabbed the sire and practically clawed at his T-shirt.

"Elain!" Tyrallin shouted in surprise. "What the hell? What are you --" Tyra tried to grab Elain's hands and hold them still, but Elain replied with a very uncharacteristic whine of frustration and yanked his hands free again. As soon as his hands were free again, he began attacking Tyra's belt.

"Elain, forests, hold on a second!" He grabbed on to Elain's shoulders, trying to hold him still. "Hey, hey, hey, look at me, lovely." Finally, Elain met his eyes, and the expression there halted Tyra in his tracks. "Elain, what's wrong with... with... what's that... scent?"

It was nothing Tyra had ever smelled before. At first he thought that Elain was maybe using a new cologne, but the deep, sweet scent held nothing artificial and was practically clouding his lover.

And the look in Elain's eyes... Tyra had never seen such a strange, wild expression.

Elain heard the words, but was unable to properly comprehend what Tyra was saying. "Tyra...," he whispered, desperately trying to focus. But he couldn't.

Tyra put a hand in Elain's hair and unconsciously took a deep breath through his nose, trying to get more of that stunningly delicious scent, trying to soak it in and identify it. "Just tell me what I can do to help, lovely. Anything for you; you know that."

"Help" was all Elain understood and everything he needed to hear. "Need you," he whispered hoarsely, pulling Tyra close to an almost bruising kiss.

"Mmmnng," Tyra mumbled into the kiss. "I can help with that," he said quickly out of the corner of his mouth. He was feeling more and more like he needed the exact same thing. He slid an arm around Elain's slender waist and pulled the lifebearer to him so that their bodies were flush together, and he could feel that his lover was erect and eager already.

Tyra's own body reacted almost immediately, and now the task of getting their clothes off as fast as possible grew urgent again. Since Elain's coordination seemed to have suffered, Tyra took over the task of undressing them. It wasn't easy since Elain didn't want to let go of him even for a second.

They finally lost balance and fell on the couch. Elain took the opportunity to sit down on top of Tyra, grinding their erections together. He leaned down and bit his lover not too gently in the neck.

"Ahh, Forests! Damnit, Elain!" Tyra exclaimed, but rather than cooling his ardor, the sting of the bite only inflamed him further. He shoved Elain's upper body away so that he could get at Elain's pants and finally undo them, and as soon as Elain's erection was freed, Tyra unbuttoned his pants and shoved them down just far enough to get himself freed as well.

Finally skin was touching skin, and the precum added to the friction. Elain gave another frustrated mewling sound and desperately tried to increase the experience somehow, his hands roaming blindly over Tyra's toned body as he rubbed himself against his lover.

Tyra shuddered eagerly beneath Elain, letting his older lover lead the way since he seemed so incredibly desperate at the moment. This was entirely unlike anything Tyra had experienced so far in their lovemaking, but it was absolutely thrilling to be the object of so much desire.

And then a devilish little voice inside his head whispered to him, I bet I can make him want me even more.

Tyra let out a small sigh and a shudder and, as he breathed back in that haunting aroma, he decided to make that happen.

But to accomplish that, Tyra needed some amount of control back. Suddenly aware of the sharp fingernails digging into his flesh very close to his most sensitive regions, he grabbed Elain's wrists again. With another helpless sound, Elain tried to struggle, but finally gave in as Tyra used his newly won leverage to switch their positions so that he was on top on Elain now.

Tyra swiftly pinned Elain's hands above his head and started grinding their leaking cocks together in firm, hard strokes. "How about we do it this way? Just give me a good loud moan if it's working for you, lovely." He kept Elain's wrists pinned with one hand and started to tear at the buttons of Elain's dress shirt with his free hand. Some of the buttons came flying off.

Although he was still putting on some resistance, Elain encouraged Tyra's actions with a noise that could only be described as a purr. The lifebearer arched his back, practically offering himself to Tyra's touches.

As soon as Tyra got Elain's shirt opened and revealed the lifebearer's chest, he released Elain's wrists so that he could run both hands eagerly over the bared nipples and smooth stomach. The whole time, he kept up the thrusts with his pelvis, grinding their lower bodies together, and everything was becoming slicker and easier as he continued and they both leaked unusually generous amounts of fluids in their passion.

"What do you need, love?" Tyra demanded hoarsely. "Tell me what I can do for you."

Elain stared up at him in total abandon, pupils dilated and cheeks flushed.

Just two little words escaped his lips, words that the normally composed and sophisticated Elain would never even think. "Fuck me."

Tyra's cock bucked between their bellies, hard. He nearly came. Never had Elain said anything like that to him before, and it made him burn. The only problem was that they still were entangled in most of their clothes, so he settled for the next best thing: He began to practically devour Elain. He ran mouth and hands possessively all over his upper body, face, neck, chest, nipples, sucking and biting and stroking all the flesh he could get at. He growled and took both of their cocks in his hand and started stroking fiercely.

Elain gave an answering moan and started to claw at Tyra's shoulders again, half pulling him closer, half urging him to go faster. As his lover's thumb briefly brushed over the tip of Elain's cock, it was already enough to send the lifebearer over the edge. With a cry he came, his vision blackening for a moment as the desire finally found an outlet.

Hearing Elain's release and taking in a deep gasp, which brought more of that heady scent onto his palate, brought Tyra along with Elain for the ride, and he came happily against Elain's stomach.

After a few moments, although he was still panting and trying to recover, he propped himself up on his elbows to look down curiously at Elain. "Not that I'm complaining, but what brought this on, Elain? Don't tell me you were looking at porn instead of working."

However, his lover was in no shape to give a proper answer. Although this first orgasm had taken the edge off the unbearable desire, it was still burning inside Elain, making his erection harden instantly again. He pulled Tyra down for a kiss, and his trembling fingers found Tyra's ear tips with instinctive accuracy.

"Oh, oh, gods, yes, fucking yes," Tyra cursed eagerly as he gave a little shiver. "Keep doing that. Nnnnn, whatever X-rated stuff you were looking at on the internet, I want to see it later." He dipped his head down and began viciously sucking at one of Elain's nipples.

Tyra was rewarded with little mewling sounds. Elain's coordination was suffering again, but he managed to keep up stroking the sensitive ears.

"Mmm, wait, wait, hold on," Tyra said, and he pulled Elain's hands away. He started to pull away from his lover, only to have Elain grasp at him to try to pull him back. "Just a sec, just a sec. Come on, let's get the clothes off."

Elain forced himself to hold still, although his whole body cried out at the loss of skin contact. But the promise of feeling his lover without any clothes between them kept him from moving until Tyra had managed to get rid of both their remaining clothes. The moment his pants were out of the way, Elain wrapped his legs around Tyra's waist.

Tyra put his face against Elain's neck and sucked in an extra deep breath of that scent and then he rolled them so that they were both on their sides, with Elain's back pressed to the back of the couch. With this position, he had much better access to touch and prepare his lover. He wasted no time sliding a hand down to cup Elain's backside and then explore between the firm cheeks and slide two fingers into the already-wet opening.

Elain moaned low in his throat and impatiently rubbed himself against his lover. He wanted, needed more, the fire in his veins scorching every nerve ending.

"Please," he breathed, unable to be patient any longer.

Tyra exhaled on a groan. "Okay, come here," he said roughly, and he arranged Elain so that he lay on his stomach on the couch, and he put a pillow under Elain's hips. Before Tyra could even properly start, Elain began thrusting desperately against the pillow.

But Tyra finally managed to hold him still long enough to enter him. He had intended to go slow, but Elain pushed himself impatiently against his lover and gave another purr of satisfaction.

Somewhere in the back of Tyrallin's mind, he knew something wasn't quite right -- his lover would normally never behave in this manner. However, he was lost in the moment, lost in the scent... lost in the heat.

Elain made another needy sound, and all Tyra could do was thrust harder, faster, answering the demand.

Elain was clinging to him like a drowning man, eagerly meeting Tyra's movements. Some cushions fell from the couch as the heavy furniture was shaken by their lovemaking, but neither of them cared.

Elain was gasping for air, completely lost in the sensations. His whole world was reduced to the existence of his own body and that of his lover's, and although Tyra had set a fast, hard pace, it still wasn't enough.

"Harder," Elain managed to whisper hoarsely.

Tyra's body surged forward as though it obeyed Elain's command and not him, but he gasped and shook his head to try to clear it. "No! Don't wanna hurt you."

"Harder!" Elain demanded, his inner muscles clenching around Tyra's cock to urge the sire into an even deeper rhythm. His fingernails savagely dug into the couch cushions, threatening to rip the fabric.

Tyra groaned raggedly and took Elain's hips in his hands, succumbing to Elain's needs and demands and doing exactly as the lifebearer asked. Panting fast, he pressed his face against Elain's shoulder briefly and then began sucking fiercely on the back of his neck, giving the skin there occasional nips.

Elain gave another mewling sound as his overly sensitive skin rubbed harder against the couch cushion. Especially his cock, trapped beneath his own belly, was mercilessly stimulated, and together with Tyra's touches and thrusts it didn't take long for Elain to reach his next orgasm.

Tyra felt Elain stiffen and clench in release beneath him. Despite Elain's release, neither of them paused for even a moment. Tyra ran a hand down the lifebearer's back in a soothing motion. His lover's skin was hot to the touch, almost feverish.

Finally, Tyra's sex-drugged brain caught up with what his body already knew: Elain was experiencing seasonals.

Tyra had read about it in his manual, but since he had never actually seen a lifebearer being in seasonals - except for his father, who didn't count - he hadn't recognized it right away. He vaguely remembered Elain saying that he was too old for seasonals, but obviously he had been wrong.

Elain was still panting harshly, but he was feeling a tiny bit less desperate. Thankfully Tyra didn't stop his movements, and the lifebearer managed to push himself up on his elbows to have a bit less friction from the cushions.

"Elain?" Tyra queried hoarsely without pausing his thrusts. "We need to try to get upstairs as soon as you're feeling up to it. We can't, nngg, can't stay here all night."

Elain was feeling coherent enough to understand his lover's words and he nodded. "Just... a bit more," he whispered, once again pushing himself against Tyra.

Tyra gasped and shuddered and gave a forceful shove against Elain's push, and he held himself buried hard and deep inside his lover as he found his release.

Elain purred again, relishing in the feeling as much as Tyra did. When his lover started to get his wind back, they tried to accomplish their plan of moving to the apartment. Elain once again was loath to let go of Tyra, but he held himself together long enough to get up from the couch. He legs, however, were not up to the task.

Tyra caught Elain around the shoulders and supported him. "Come on, over to the box of tissues, and then we'll see about getting some clothes on." He guided Elain to the side table so they could both clean up a bit. He then pulled his jeans and shirt on and threw both of their socks and shoes in a spare plastic bag, and he gathered the untouched dinners he'd brought with him.

Elain put his clothes back on with shaking hands and shuddered as he felt the fabric on his skin again, resisting the urge to rip them off right away. Just a few moments, he reminded himself. Out the door, down the floor, and into the lift. He just had to keep himself together until then.

Tyra noticed Elain's shaking and wanted to reach out and touch the lifebearer to comfort him, but that damn scent was still driving him nuts, and he knew if he touched Elain again, they'd end up right back on the office couch. So he settled for going out of the office and checking to make sure no one else was around.

If there were any sires around right now... well, Tyra simply didn't want them seeing or smelling Elain at the moment. It would do very, very bad things for his sanity.

But the floor was deserted and dark, an indication that the other offices were already empty. Tyra called the elevator, and when Elain had managed to reach it, they went up to the tenth floor, impatiently waiting until the elevator doors opened again. As soon as they did, Elain grabbed Tyra by the arm and practically dragged him into the apartment.

Velvet, who had been sleeping on a bookshelf in the living room, took a curious look at them and then wisely decided to retreat into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Tyra had his arms full of eager lifebearer. Barely had they shut the apartment door before Elain was opening Tyra's jeans again and sliding a hand inside.

His coordination was still a bit shaken, but he was careful not to hurt his lover although his grip was firm. A few moments later Elain had divested Tyra of his pants and impatiently pulled off his own clothes.

Tyra managed to get them into the bedroom somehow, and Elain pushed him onto the bed and practically jumped on top of him.

"Wait," Tyra said quickly as Elain positioned them hurriedly. "Don't hurt your—" Tyra's sentenced was choked off as Elain forcefully slammed his body down, impaling himself in one quick stroke.

Elain was far from feeling any pain. All he wanted was to ease the burning that still ruled his body, and feeling Tyra deep inside him was the only way. He gave a low groan and started to move, trying not to claw at Tyra's stomach as he pushed himself up.

Elain started up a fast, hard pace, and beneath him, Tyra groaned in delight. Never had Elain lost control quite like this, and the aggressive, demanding actions of his lover left him utterly overwhelmed.

And if Elain had been in his right state of mind, he'd never have let himself fall into abandon like this. As often and passionate as they made love, Elain had always been in control in some way. He trusted Tyra, but decades of bad experiences had left their mark, turning the absolute necessity of being master of the situation into an instinctive behavior he couldn't consciously switch off.

But all this was now forgotten, and even if Elain had been able to think about it, he wouldn't have cared at all.

Tyra looked up at Elain through half-lidded eyes, taking in the sheen of sweat on his skin, the little snarl twisting his mouth, the silky strands of hair that were falling forward and moving with each body-shaking thrust Elain gave them.

"Come for me, now," Tyra demanded. And he took Elain's twitching member in his hands and swiped his thumb over the tip, hard.

Elain cried out and arched his back as the orgasm hit him. For a moment he had to fight to keep his balance as his vision blackened, but then he caught himself on his arms. He was shivering, and for a few, heavenly seconds he thought that it was finally over. But his treacherous body wasn't satisfied at all yet.

They continued almost through the night before both of them finally passed out from exhaustion.

 

~*~

 

The next morning, it was the squirming that woke Tyra. Elain was normally a completely quiet, still sleeper, but Tyra found that even though the lifebearer was still fast asleep, he was making small noises in the back of his throat and shifting restlessly.

Apparently the affects of being in seasonals didn't allow him to even sleep properly. Tyra also felt the lifebearer's erection nudging against his side. Before he could decide what to do, however, the telephone on the nightstand beeped.

Tyra blinked sleepily and then reached for the phone, fumbling with it for a moment before he was able to answer. "Hello?"

"Good morning." It was Conroy; Tyra recognized the usually calm, serious voice that now sounded a bit worried. "Mr. Alwick, could you please remind Mr. Silvestri that he has an appointment in half an hour?"

Tyra winced and glanced at the clock. It was almost ten a.m.

"Elain...isn't feeling well at all," Tyra said. "He can't make the meeting. Actually, he's not going to be able to work today. If it isn't something you can handle, you'll have to cancel it." Tyra pulled himself upright and put his feet over the side of the bed.

"Should I call a doctor?" Conroy asked, now clearly concerned. "Mr. Silvestri was already behaving a bit strange yesterday, but I thought it was only the stress."

As he gradually woke up, Tyra's mind was starting to race. "No, no doctor, but I need a favor from Marithia. Can you have her call up here immediately?"

"Yes, of course. And please don't hesitate to call me if there's anything I can do," Conroy said. "Please give Mr. Silvestri my best regards."

He disconnected the line, and about a minute later the phone rang again. It was Marithia, sounding a bit sleepy. "Hey handsome, Conroy said that the boss is sick?" she asked. "Did he finally catch a flu or something?"

"No, he caught seasonals," Tyra replied with a grimace. "How do I get my hands on some Amsinol? Fast?"

"Seasonals?" Marithia's usually low, sensual voice sounded shrill. "Forests, and he said he was over them! Okay, normally he has a stash of Amsinol in his office desk and in his nightstand. Are you anywhere near to one of them?"

"Yeah," Tyra replied. "Just a second." He put down the phone and fumbled around in the nightstand drawer. He found the pill bottle shoved all the way to the back and pulled it out. Tyra took a quick look at the instructions and then noticed something printed on it: an expiration date for over two years ago.

"Shit!" Tyra whispered fiercely. He picked up the phone. "No good. Expired."

"Damn! Okay, handsome, don't worry. I'll head to the drugstore and buy some new pills immediately," Marithia said, and Tyra could hear muted sounds of her shuffling around to get dressed. "How's Elain at the moment?"

Tyra looked over his shoulder. Elain was panting lightly. "Sleeping, but not very well at all. He's already exhausted. The faster you can get those pills, the better."

"I'll be there as fast as I can!" Marithia promised.

Tyra put the phone down and then looked at the expired bottle of Amsinol again. He remembered fantasizing about Elain being in seasonals in the past, but reality had little to do with his imagination, Tyra had to admit.

From behind him, a hand began sneaking around his waist to wrap around his stomach. Elain had woken up and was trying to pull him back onto the bed.

"Sorry, but I need to wait for Marithia," Tyra tried to reason. "She's getting you some Amsinol."

Elain blinked and still didn't let go. "What?"

"Amsinol," Tyra said again. "She's getting you Amsinol to help with the seasonals."

"Whatever. You come back here," Elain demanded, not caring in the slightest except for getting his lover back into bed with him. When his tugging proved to be fruitless, he attacked Tyra's more sensitive regions and lowered his hand to stroke Tyra's cock.

Although Tyra was still pretty tired from being up all night, just a few quick strokes and the heady, concentrated scents of Elain and sex saturating the air brought him quickly to erection.

"Elain, come on, stop, please," Tyra said, and he tried to get a hold of Elain to make him stop.

But Elain was surprisingly fast despite the fact that he should be as worn out as Tyra. He pulled away when the sire tried to hold him still and caught a pointed ear tip between his teeth.

 

 

When a slightly frazzled Marithia entered the apartment with her key card about fifteen minutes later, she was greeted with some fascinating sounds from the bedroom. Velvet padded toward her with a hungry mewl, and she petted the cat, promising to feed her as soon as she had delivered the Amsinol. Then she called out, "Tyra? I'm here!"

Marithia heart a muffled curse from the bedroom that sounded like it must have come from Tyra, but then a moment later she distinctly heard Elain shout, "No, don't stop! More!"

"Well, kitty, seems your master has it really bad," Marithia told Velvet and sighed. Then she took the new bottle of Amsinol out of her bag and went to the bedroom door. Marithia wasn't too happy to do this, but Tyra had sounded pretty desperate, and she knew from personal experience how nasty seasonals could be. Plus, Elain would have wanted to get back to work, not to mention remedy the generally unacceptable state he was in as fast as possible.

She briefly knocked and warned, "Hey, boys, I'm coming in" before she opened it.

When she opened the door, they didn't notice her right away. She had a full view of Tyra's back and tight buttocks, thrusting away at Elain. They were kneeling upright at the head of the bed, and she could see Elain's white-knuckled grip on the headboard.

Tyra's back was a mess of red scratch lines.

Marithia instantly felt sorry for Tyra. She coughed, trying to make her presence known again, but when she was ignored, she just went to the nightstand and put down the bottle of Amsinol.

"It should work in between the next two hours," she said without looking at either of them and then retreated.

"Thank you," Tyra said between gasps, and as she retreated, she saw him reaching for the bottle without breaking his pace even for an instant. A moment later, Marithia was out the door and back into the living room.

Velvet was waiting for her as she closed the bedroom door. The feline mewed at her impatiently.

Marithia scooped the cat up and carried her into the kitchen to feed her. When she put Velvet down to fill her bowls with fresh water and cat food, she suddenly grinned. "Seems your master has learned the nasty habit of scratching skin from you, kitty," she said.

 

Velvet mewed in affirmation.

 

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Elain woke up in the evening, tired and sore, but with a clear head. After Tyra had practically forced the pills into his mouth, it had taken a few hours for them to work, and as soon as Elain felt better, he and Tyra had fallen asleep.

Elain needed a few minutes to get these things straight in his memory, but when he finally realized that the worst was over, he rolled over to look at Tyra. The sire was still sound asleep, and when Elain carefully tried to reach over him to grab the bottle of Amsinol for another pill, he saw the red scratches covering Tyra's back. With a soft gasp of horror he almost dropped the bottle, but then stifled the sound to avoid waking his lover.

Elain, who prided himself on his self-control, had completely lost himself to the heat of seasonals, so much so that his lover would be paying the price for it every time the fabric of his shirt shifted against his back.

Elain was mortified. Never mind the fact that he had never actually experienced the full force of seasonals before, since he had always, always had a bottle of Amsinol available. Forests, that was no excuse for clawing Tyra, for the way he'd behaved.

Elain rose from the bed and quietly walked to the bathroom, determined to get some sort of salve or ointment for Tyra.

Elain found some disinfecting salve in his well-sorted bathroom cabinet and took the opportunity to wash his face and comb his hair. He sorely need a shower or a bath, but his knees were still weak, and if he used the tub, he was sure he'd fall asleep in there.

As Elain closed the cabinet, his gaze fell on an old, still unopened box of condoms that was chucked behind some shampoo bottles. He and Tyra had never used them, because both of them were clean and there had been no risk of impregnation, but now...

"Oh gods," Elain whispered, his face turning white.

Elain turned his back on the cabinet and slowly sank to the floor. He leaned his head back against the cabinet and stared at the ceiling in silence for several long minutes as he adjusted himself to the fact that he had completely lost control, but that he and Tyrallin had both been complete idiots as well.

Of course it was due to the fact that Elain had practically been out of his mind, and if he remembered correctly, he had left Tyra absolutely no room for protest or straight thinking. But nevertheless... it was no excuse.

Elain tried to take steady breaths as something akin to hysteria threatened to crawl up his throat. Unpleasant memories of a very similar situation filled his mind: another bathroom, decades ago, after he had woken up with only a vague memory of the previous night, but with the clear evidence of sex on his body. Marithia and he had thrown a little party right after his college graduation, and some bastard had spiked his drink with a drug that stimulated seasonals. Marithia had managed to talk him into going to the hospital the next day, and luckily Elain had endured no further consequences from that night. But after that, he had never drunk anything but water in company.

Although it was a different situation now, because he had been with the person he loved, the whole feeling of shame and helplessness was the same.

Distantly, Elain heard the sound of movement coming from the bedroom. A minute later, Tyra appeared in the doorway, wearing only a pair of boxers.

"Elain?" Tyra queried quietly. "Are you okay?"

Elain tried for an automatic answer like "of course" or "yes, I'm alright", but he couldn't. So he silently shook his head, not daring to look at his lover. Forests, he wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out again.

"Do you need another pill? I can go get the bottle for you," Tyra offered.

"No, thank you," Elain whispered. He could imagine Tyra's worried face looking down at him, and it made him feel even worse. "I'm sorry."

Tyra continued to hover in the doorway, feeling completely unsure of himself. "Don't be. Nothing to be sorry for," he replied. "Is there...is there anything you need?"

Elain took a deep, shaky breath. "Yes. A pregnancy test."

Tyra felt his skin go cold in a quick rush, and his mind shut down completely for a full minute. They hadn't...he hadn't...they'd been...Elain....

When his brain began to function once more, he put a hand over his face and looked away from Elain. "A pregnancy test won't tell you anything until at least two weeks after conception. A magically skilled lashran physician would be able to tell you right away."

"Then... could you please look up the downtown hospital's number? Or call Marithia?" Elain asked, trying to get back onto his feet. They had to clear this up right away, and if he focussed on the task, he could be able to pull himself together somehow.

Tyra went to Elain's side and offered him a hand. "It's after nine o'clock right now. We can't do anything until tomorrow morning."

"Oh damn," Elain groaned and took Tyra's hand after moment of hesitation. Then he remembered the actual reason for his trip to the bathroom and took the salve from the wash basin. "Let me put this on your back."

"My back? Why? What's wrong with my back?" Tyra asked, and he turned his back to the mirror and craned his neck to see over his shoulder. "Holy shit. Did you do that? I don't even remember feeling that happen."

Elain hid his face in his hand, his newly won resolve crumbling again. "I'm so sorry. I would never have... I would never want to hurt you!"

"Hey, hey, come on now," Tyra said, and he quietly slipped his arms around Elain's slender shoulders and pulled him close. "Like I said, I didn't even feel it at the time. And I didn't want to hurt you either, but I bet your backside's burning, isn't it?"

Thankfully Elain put his head against Tyra's shoulder. "Just a bit," he admitted softly. "And you didn't hurt me. But I'm still sorry since I practically forced you."

A concerned frown wrinkled the skin between Tyra's brows. "There wasn't any forcing going on." He felt Elain give a small shuddering sigh in his arms, and he pulled away just a bit so that he could look at the lifebearer and meet his eyes, but Elain avoided his gaze. "Look, I know you're upset. Let's get some hot tea and talk a bit, okay?"

It was such a sensible idea that Elain couldn't deny it. His bathroom wasn't exactly the right place to calm down again, and he'd prefer a softer place to sit than the hard floor. He also finally remembered to grab his bathrobe and put it on.

They went into the living room, and after Tyra had left Elain on the couch, he went to the kitchen to make some tea. When he came back, Elain insisted on putting the salve on the sire's back first.

When Elain was done, Tyra leaned forward with his elbows on his knees in order to avoid getting the salve on the couch.

He watched as Elain took a sip of the tea. He hesitantly asked, "I thought...I thought you had told me a while ago that you were beyond seasonals?"

Elain put his cup down before he answered. He felt a bit better now. "Yes, I thought that they were over because my last seasonals were almost twenty years ago," he answered. "Guess I was wrong."

Tyra took a sip of his own cup of tea before speaking again. "Wouldn't that have been a bit early to be over seasonals? Did you consult a doctor about it?"

"No, I just assumed it since I never had seasonals very often over the years. And if the Amsinol had worked in the first place, it wouldn't have been a problem at all." Elain finally managed to look at Tyra. "I really didn't imagine that this would happen."

Tyra put his tea cup down on the coffee table and ran his hands through his thoroughly messed up hair. "Do you think you can get that appointment tomorrow? Do you want me to go to the doctor's office with you?"

Elain averted his gaze again. "I'll call my physician first thing in the morning, and I'm sure he can get me an appointment with a magic specialist. I'd like you to come with me."

Tyra stared at his cup of tea, focusing on the tiny fragments of crushed herbs at the bottom of the cup. "This is... I'm sorry. I should have realized..."

Elain shook his head. "We were both careless, and it was bad luck. It's just... we should decide what to do if..." He couldn't speak any further. Some time ago he had mused over the fact that Tyra would want children someday, and Elain himself had had a baby in his arms for the first time in his life and hadn't found it too bad. But the thought of having kids was still too foreign.

Tyra quietly rubbed his forehead. Did Elain mean...? No, Tyra didn't want to think about it at all. "We, well, we'll find out for sure tomorrow, right? We don't have any facts right now. We shouldn't make decisions without facts."

"No, you're right. It's just..." Elain quickly took another sip of his tea to calm his nerves. Tyra had also brought the bottle of Amsinol from the bedroom, and Elain decided to take another pill. "It's just that you would like to have kids someday, right? This may be our last chance."

Tyra took a quick, startled look at Elain. "But what about you? Is it something you want?"

Elain shook his head. "No, not really. I know it's strange for a lifebearer to say that, but I'm happy as I am, you and my work occupying my time. And frankly, I'm sure I wouldn't make a good parent."

Tyra shook his head. "I don't think you'd be a bad parent, but it's not strange to not want kids. Plenty of people don't want to be parents. But, oh, hell, I don't know." Tyra closed his eyes and rested his head in his hands.

Elain didn't know what to say, so he refilled their cups with fresh tea. Finally he said softly, "I'm really sorry, Tyra. We both didn't think it properly through when we decided to have a relationship, but despite all this I won't ever want to give you up. Nevertheless, in moments like these... I get the feeling I'm being unfair to you all the time. You had so much trouble on my account: disagreements with your parents, trouble with the scholarship and the press, and I know even your friends aren't too happy. And on top of it I'm not even the social type, even less one to have a happy family with."

Tyra finally looked at Elain, really looked at him. His cheeks were a bit flushed, likely from a too-warm temperature, his eyes were just a bit glassy and filled with worry, and he looked just so small and delicate haunched over in his bathrobe, completely unlike how he looked normally with his tailored suits and firm posture.

Tyra put a hand over Elain's mouth and pushed him down to the couch, climbing on top of him and keeping his hand in place. "Cut that out, you got it? We love each other, we chose each other, so stop with the fretting."

Elain could only nod since he was cut off from answering verbally. Normally he would have been offended by such a behavior, but right now all that mattered was the serious, almost solemn look in Tyra's brilliant hazel eyes. Such confidence, such trust lay in them that Elain suddenly felt ashamed for doubting.

Tyra removed his hand and gave Elain a quick kiss, but then swiftly moved away and sat back up again because that damned tempting scent was still lingering on the lifebearer's skin.

"I love you, and I love that you're thinking of me, about the fact that I want children, even though you don't. That's more than enough for me. Anything else, we talk about tomorrow." Tyra scratched the back of his neck. Actually, parenthood wasn't something he was anywhere near prepared for at the moment, either.

Despite all his worries, Elain couldn't help but smile a little. He was deeply moved in a way he couldn't really explain, but he was sure that nine of ten sires on Wyndrah wouldn't have answered like that. "You are really wonderful, you know that? I still don't know how I deserve you." He gave his lover a quick kiss on the cheek, reminding himself to keep the distance.

Tyra found himself uncontrollably following after Elain, after that sweet scent, in order to give him a proper kiss on the mouth, but after the barest contact, he pulled back with a groan. "I think I'd better sleep on the couch. It'll be a while before I can get back to sleep, though. I'll, um, work on some homework for a while."

"Alright. And don't forget to eat something," Elain reminded him. "I'll take a shower and try to sleep a bit."

He got up from the couch, taking the Amsinol with him, before he remembered something very important. "Oh gods, I totally forgot about Velvet! She needs her food, poor thing." As he went to the kitchen to remedy that problem, he found a quick note from Marithia beside Velvet's cat food, telling him that she had been taken care of the cat in the morning. Feeling a bit less guilty, he refilled the food and water bowls. As soon as Velvet heard the distinct noises, she came out of her hiding place under the corner seat and snuggled against her master, purring. Obviously she liked his smell as well.

Elain laughed, gently petting her.

Elain looked up to find Tyra setting his emptied cup of tea on the counter.

Tyra's mouth twisted in a half frown. "The cat gets to rub against you but I don't?" He shook his head and left the kitchen. "That's just not fair at all."

Elain gave Velvet one last pet before he went after Tyra. "I'm sorry. But you said yourself it would be best to keep some distance until I'm through with seasonals."

Tyrallin sighed and thought to himself, Not fair at all.

Then he went to find that bottle of Amsinol so he could take one for himself.

~*~

Early the next morning, Tyra and Elain headed out for the Downtown Hospital. As they had hoped, Elain's physician had been able to make him an appointment with a lashran doctor who specialized in magically monitoring pregnancies.

Elain was fidgety and nervous while they waited, but he relaxed visibly when the doctor showed up: a tiny, young-looking lifebearer with a gentle smile that could only be described as maternal.

"Mr. Silvestri? I'm Doctor Landir. Please come in. And your companion as well, if you like."

They followed him into the examining room.

The doctor shut the door behind them and gestured to the cushioned table with a sheer paper stretched across it. "If you would have a seat, Mr. Silvestri? And could you tell me what it is that you need from me today?"

Tyra found a chair in the corner to sit in.

Elain did as he was told, still looking a bit apprehensive. But then he said, "I went into seasonals the day before yesterday because my Amsinol had expired, and had unprotected sex. So now I need to know if I might be pregnant."

"Ahh, I see," the petite lifebearer said. His eyes seemed to involuntarily dart over Tyrallin before returning to Elain. "Well then, there's no real need for you to strip down and put on a gown. It's easy enough for me to tell. If you'll just untuck your shirt for me, I simply need to put my hand on your abdomen for a few moments, if you don't mind." Dr. Landir put down his clipboard on a counter and pulled a sterile glove from a dispenser.

Elain complied. He had taken enough Amsinol to last for hours, but clothes still felt a bit more scratchy than usual on his skin and he was careful in untucking his shirt. For a second, he looked over to Tyra in a silent plea for assurance - it was the first time that he really needed it.

As the doctor slipped a gloved hand under Elain's shirt, Tyra noticed Elain's gaze and mouthed a silent "It's okay" to his lover.

The doctor was quiet for a moment, and his hand pulsed hot against Elain's tummy.

A small frown creased the youthful features. "You said you went into seasonals the day before yesterday? From what I'm reading, it seems like you've only just started. You still have at least thirty-six hours to go."

Elain frowned. "How is that possible? I was hoping it would be over soon. I need to go back to work, and I can hardly walk into a room full of sires like this..."

Dr. Landir gave Elain a wry smile. "Oh, it's possible all right. I can explain more in a minute, but for the moment, I need to concentrate." A line furrowed between the doctor's brows, and he stared firmly at the place where his hand was hidden beneath Elain's shirt.

After a few more moments of tense silence, the doctor pulled away. He stripped off the medical glove. "You're not pregnant."

"Thank the forests," Elain whispered, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Not knowing had been the worst part of it all.

A quick glance a Tyra showed him an equally relieved face, but there was something else in those beloved hazel eyes that Elain recognized after a moment as disappointment. He quickly busied himself with tucking his shirt back into his pants with slightly shaking hands, trying not to think about the look his lover gave him.

"Tell me, Mr. Silvestri," Dr. Landir said, "what sort of history of seasonals do you have? When was your first instance, your most recent instance before this one, and how frequently do you tend to get them?"

"I had my first when I was twenty-eight, I think," Elain tried to recall. "After that they came about every ten years, except for the last time, which was about nineteen or twenty years ago. Therefore I assumed I was already over them."

The doctor was silent for a moment. He calmly took a seat in a rolling chair next to the counter.

Eventually, he spoke up again. "It's a common misconception that lifebearers 'get over' seasonals. Our potential for fertility never truly goes away, as it does with human women. It simply gets locked away, in a sense, for reasons that are still mysterious to us. The fertility is still there, but we don't know how to access it. But that's all rather more involved than we need to get into here." The doctor cleared his throat. "Pardon me, but I tend to go off on tangents regarding the subject. In your case, Mr. Silvestri, many lifebearers might mistake the infrequency of seasonals for a lack of fertility. What I sense from you, though, is that your body's cycles in particular are influenced by situation. That's not entirely uncommon, although it isn't quite the norm."

"What do you mean by 'situation'?" Tyra asked with a frown.

The doctor shrugged toward Tyra and gave Elain a half smile. "Simply put, the more frequently and consistently you receive sexual stimulation, the more regular and frequent your seasonals would be, Mr. Silvestri. Theoretically, a long dry spell followed by a lot of fast and furious action could very well land you in a bout of three-day seasonals." The doctor swayed in his rolling chair briefly, and it made the small lifebearer look almost child-like. "Perhaps you've heard the phrase 'A pleasured lifebearer is a fertile lifebearer.' Well, there's actually plenty of scientific evidence to back that up."

Elain stifled the urge to cough. What the doctor said was all too true, considering his past sexual relationships which where extremely scarce considering the normal lashran sex drive.

"So that means I have to expect getting seasonals more frequently from now on?" Elain asked.

The doctor's lips twitched, and he looked at Tyra, who was blushing to the tips of his ears. "I suppose so, for at least a little while longer. I'd guess that you have another ten or fifteen years of normal fertility, but after that, I estimate your fertility will start to naturally drop off."

Elain nodded. Although he wasn't looking forward to more frequent seasonals, it also meant that he and Tyra had a lot more timing thinking about the possibility of having children some day. A lot could change in ten or fifteen years, and considering how much Elain's life had changed alreadysince he knew Tyra, he guessed that nothing was impossible.

With a much, much lighter heart, Elain said, "Thank you very much, doctor. Anything else I need to know?"

Dr. Landir shook his head. "Not unless either of you have anything you'd like to know. However, if something changes along the line and you'd like to try for children, I highly recommend you talk to me again or to another specialist so that we can increase your odds. If you only get to take a few shots, you'd better make them good ones, right?"

"Yes, I'll keep that in mind." Now Elain fought a blush, too. It was surprisingly easy to talk about those private matters with the gentle and friendly Dr. Landir, but it was a bit embarrassing nevertheless.

He briefly looked over to Tyra who was still flushed and looked utterly adorable.

The doctor rose. "Well, I suppose that concludes this visit. Feel free to straighten up, and you can get your receipt for the visit from the receptionist." The lifebearer took his clipboard and left the room

Slowly, Elain slid off from the examination table and straightened his jacket before he went over to Tyra, smiling. "I'd say that was good news."

Tyra rose and gave Elain a weak smile. "Definitely. For some reason I still have butterflies in my stomach, though."

"Yes, me too," Elain admitted as he exited the examining room. "Let's get some coffee or tea to calm down. And then I'll have to tell Conroy that all my appointments need to be cancelled for the next days."

"Okay, good," Tyra said. "I don't really want any other sires sniffing around right now." He had to resist the urge to slip an arm around Elain and do some sniffing of his own.

Elain laughed softly. "No, me neither." He took the receipt from the receptionist, and they went to the elevator to exit the hospital. Outside was a beautiful, sunny day, and now both of them were finally able to appreciate it.

To be concluded...


	7. Chapter 7

A few weeks later, the Alwicks were invited to the Velvet Shadow. Elain had taken great care to arrange a beautiful table and a perfect dinner in one of the private rooms, and gladly, Lissem and Detrallin accepted. Even Feadri was allowed to come along, and little Selvyn was being taken care of by Mrs. Kendrick.

Elain had the urge to celebrate a bit because things were looking much brighter now. First, he had solved the problem with Councilman Tavis by giving the evidence to the police commissioner of Valkyrie Falls via his lawyer. There had been a huge ruckus in the media again, but it had been worth it since Tavis was forced to resign from office.

And Elain just told Lissem the second happy occasion.

"After checking with Rhaval, I called my brother. It was a bit awkward at first, but then we had a long talk. Tyra and I are planning to visit him in two weeks."

Lissem's brows rose, and he looked at Tyrallin. "Both of you? I hope you're not going to let this interrupt your studies."

Tyra shook his head. "No, it'll just be over a weekend, and I don't have any Monday morning classes this semester."

"You have to get me some souvenirs from Nandar, Tyra!" Feadri piped up. "And something for dad and father and Selvyn as well!"

His parents smiled at his childish outburst, and before Tyra could answer, Elain asked, "And what should we bring back for you? I'm afraid Nandar is still a rather backwater place."

"Nandar chocolate!" the young lifebearer replied immediately. "Nandar's famous for it's chocolate treats, right? That'd be perfect!"

"Feadri, come on now, aren't you a little old to be begging for souvenirs?" Detrallin chastised mildly.

"No, it's alright. We'll get you some," Elain promised with a quick look to Tyra who seemed to like the idea of visiting a country famous for its sweets even more.

Feadri smiled smugly. "Thanks. And it's not begging, it's getting a fair reward."

"Fair reward?" Tyra asked after he swallowed a bite of his dinner. "What do you mean?"

Feadri seemed to debate with himself whether he should tell, looking around the room in mock disinterest. "Well, just a tiny little something I did for you when you were moping after your break-up, big bro. I heard you listening to a certain song all night and figured it might be important. So I put it on a CD and sent it to a certain club."

Elain and Tyra both stared at him in surprise.

"That was you?" Tyra asked, stunned. "There was no evidence at all, not even a mark on the CD."

"Hehe, that's why I'm the science whiz and you're just a lame architecture student," Feadri grinned. "And, best of all, it worked, right?"

Elain had gotten over his shock as well and said with a warm smile, "Feadri, I'm truly grateful for this. You've done me an invaluable favor."

Detrallin and Lissem looked equally confused, but it slowly dawned on them what had happened as well.

Tyra, however, sighed heavily and shook his head in disappointment.

"Hey, what?" Feadri had noticed it of course. "Don't tell me it wasn't the right thing to do! Alright, I might have kept it a secret, but I wanted to help you, Tyra!"

"Darling, that's not the point," Lissem said gravely.

"Yes, it is! And it's not as if I haven't kept it a secret that..." He stopped, turning red as he reallized he had almost spilled another secret. He quickly grabbed his glass of lemonade and took a deep gulp.

Now Elain was confused again and looked at Tyra.

Tyra narrowed his eyes at Feadri. "Well, I was going to say that I just don't like owing my little rat-fink brother a favor, but what else have you been keeping from us, nerdling?"

"Not from you, anyway. And it's nothing. I guess you already told Elain yourself." Feadri tried to wave the matter aside, but it didn't work at all.

"Tyra, what is he talking about?" Suddenly, Elain's old fear of having things kept from him was back with full force.

"I don't have any idea!" Tyra disclaimed, shaking his head.

Lissem gave Feadri a small frown. "Honey, I think you'd better just say whatever it is you're talking about."

"Okay, okay. It's the bet thing. Sally told me about it ages ago, and I figure Elain knows it already," Feadri mumbled. "Right, Elain?"

"No, I'm afraid not," the older lifebearer answered. "I have no idea what you mean. What bet?"

Tyra stared at Feadri, stupefied. "You... but... Sally..." He looked at Elain's expression, and panic started to creep up on the young sire. "It's, well, it's not that serious, really. I mean, oh shit, I don't know." He leaned over the table and buried his face in his hands with a groan.

"Tyra, whatever it is, you better come out with it," Lissem urged, seeing Elain getting pale.

"It's nothing, really!" Feadri insisted. "Tyra lost the bet, so it doesn't matter, right? It was more of a dare, really, the way Sally tells it. Jerrik and Tyra made a bet about whether Tyra could get the name and phone number of whoever Jerrik picked out that night."

Tyra pinched his lips together and pointed at Feadri. "You are in so much trouble. No chocolate for you."

"And he picked me because I looked the hardest to get, right?" Now some things finally made sense to Elain: Tyra's approach out of the blue that evening and his insistence on getting back into touch with him again although Elain hadn't been very amiable.

Elain was too shocked to even be angry. He could just look at Tyra, feeling the fear creep up in his heart. After all they had been through, after all the secrets that had stood between them... everything was just because of a stupid, childish dare?

Unexpectedly, Lissem found the words that Elain couldn't. "Tyra, how could you do such a thing? Didn't I raise you better than that? It's one thing for you and Jerrik to do your idiot dares and get each other into trouble, but involving other people? Playing with other people?! You should be ashamed."

Tyra put his hand and down gave his father a stony look. "I am not ashamed. Taking that bet was the best thing I ever did."

That last sentence pulled Elain out of his confused, hurt state. He had learned to trust Tyra's words, and this statement was sincere, he knew it. The thought of knowing his lover just because of this bet was still sobering, but the important thing was that Tyra had come back to see him.

He took a deep breath. "I guess I have to agree."

In the silence that followed, Feadri looked back and forth between Tyra and Elain. Eventually the teenager blurted out, "Am I still in trouble?"

"Shush, you!" Lissem whispered. "Eat your dessert!"

Tyra looked at Elain warily. He knew his lover understood what he meant, but he could tell by the stiff shoulders that he was going to hear more about it later.

But for the moment, Elain was back in his role as gracious host and asked about the Alwick grandparents which he had met during the baby party. Slowly, the conversation returned to normal, but Feadri stayed silent and busied himself with eating.

 

Later that evening, when Tyra's parents and Feadri had gone home, Tyra and Elain went upstairs to the apartment.

"Hey, don't worry anymore," Elain said and smiled. "I guess now are really all secrets out of the way."

Tyra's brows rose. "You're really not mad? Because I understand if you are. You told me firmly no more secrets, and I never told you about this, and..." Tyra trailed off, unsure of what else he could say.

"It was a shock," Elain admitted. "But I'm not mad at you. As I said, I suppose I have to thank Jerrik for this, or I would have never met you."

Tyra nodded and finally allowed himself to relax. He took his shoes off and strolled into the kitchen to get a can of soda. "You know, if you think of it, it's only because of x or y circumstance that any two people ever meet and fall in love," he said. "Jerrik and Atsayal met because they both happened to go to the same school. My parents met because sire just happened to get invited to one of dad's cast parties for the end of a play run. You and I just happened to meet because Jerrik's a loudmouth. That's how it goes, right?"

"Yes, I guess so." Elain followed him and softly petted the sleeping Velvet as he passed her on his way to the kitchen. "And I really need to buy Feadri a lot of chocolate since he was the one who sent me the CD. He's a real sweetheart despite being a bit cheeky. But that seems to run in the family." He gave Tyra a gentle nudge.

Tyra smiled happily and nudged back. "You forgot charm. That runs in the family, too. Little Selvy's going to be a lifebearer magnet. And once Feadri decides to stop wearing sloppy clothes, I'm going to have to watch out for him big time. He claims he and dad are nothing alike, but he's just in denial."

Elain laughed. "Yes, they look very much alike. And your baby brother is going to be as handsome as you, don't worry." His smile grew a bit wistful. "You know, after the chaos about the seasonals had settled, I have done a bit of serious thinking... about children."

Tyra froze with his soda can half way to his mouth. He slowly put it down and then leaned his back against the counter. "What've you been thinking?" he asked, trying desperately to sound casual.

"Well, you heard what the doctor said - I have the next ten to fifteen years to decide if I want children of my own after all. And a lot can happen in this time." Elain's smile grew a bit crooked. "Maybe I'll even feel like a responsible adult until then and dare to brave the adventure of being a parent - with your help, of course."

Tyra reached out a hand toward Elain, and when the lifebearer took it, Tyra pulled him close so he could put his arms around him. "You don't have to, you know. And we won't do it unless it's something you decide that you want, too. Right?"

Elain leaned against him, feeling the warmth and strength of his lover's embrace. "Yes, I know. But as I said, I might decide that I want to, after all. Let's just see what the next years bring." He looked up at Tyra and then gently pulled him down for a kiss. "There's no rush."

"Mm," Tyra murmured as he accepted the kiss and returned it. They lingered over it for several moments, enjoying, but Tyra eventually pulled away. "Hold on, just a second." He pressed his thumb momentarily to Elain's lips and then pulled away from the embrace. "Wait here. I'll be right back."

Elain did as he as told, albeit with a little frown on his face, and waited until Tyra came back to him.

When Tyra returned, he carried with him a jeweller's box. It was a bit larger than the size of a watch box.

"This is...well, this is for you," he held out the box and placed it in Elain's hands.

"Tyra, I already told you that you don't have to give me a belated birthday present and..." Elain broke off when he opened the box and found a thin bangle on a velvet cushion. It was made of two delicate, intertwined ropes of gold; one yellow, one reddish. Elain instantly knew that this was no ordinary jewellery.

"Tyra, that's..." He was at a loss for words as he stared down at the promise bangle.

Tyra's ear tips were slowly turning red. "I'm not...I'm not asking right now. This is just, well, I'm going to ask later, but I guess I'm a little impatient. I can't quite wait all that long to bring this up, to make some sort of offer. I love you and want to bond with you some day, and I'm going to ask as soon as I'm at a point in my life where I can." Tyra scratched the back of his head. "You don't have to put it on right away or say anything right now, but I want you to know I have it for you." Tyra paused a moment before rushing to continue. "I have one for me, too, but I won't wear it until you're ready. Oh, shit, um, is it weird that I got one for myself?"

t was so very sweet to see Tyra this awkward and hopeful at the same time, and Elain couldn't help but burst into laughter. But he quickly sobered up and took the bangle out of its box to put it on his own wrist.

"Is that answer enough?"

Tyra sobered up and took Elain's hand and looked at the bangle dangling there for a moment. "Yeah, it does." Tyra pulled him close and kissed him slowly, but there was a fierce edge to a kiss, an edge of longing, a taste of a promise.

Elain returned the kiss with equal passion, and it stood for anything that hadn't been said with words. This moment marked the threshold to something new, and Elain was embracing it with open arms. As much as he had always feared giving his heart completely, he now knew that he didn't want it to belong all to himself any more. And the promise bangle, reminder of all the love he was getting in return, was no chain to hold him down, but a link that connected them to each other.

 

A concert, a bet, two strangers. A first meeting, a first date, a perfect kiss. A chance at first love, a fight, and a second chance at first love. So many little moments had lead to this moment for Tyra, and he was grateful for them all. This very moment, though, was his favorite out of all of them.

But as he pulled away from the kiss and buried his face against Elain's neck, he smiled secretly to himself because he knew that every moment after it would be even better.

END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This concludes the story of Tyra and Elain. I'm sorry that they didn't get a baby yet, but we felt that it would be too rushed. But they'll have one for sure ^^
> 
> If you like to read more Wyndrah stories, please continue with "Secrets".


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